This year for the first time, Ascham students who are part of our Years 5 and 6 Enrichment Comprehension sessions, took part in the Future Problem-Solving Competition. And they made it to the National Finals!
The competition requires students to extensively research topics such as e-waste, digital realities and the robotic workforce, before being presented with a ‘future scene’. They work through this to identify problems from 16 categories linked to their research, before selecting one underlying problem to solve through a six-step process.
In Term 3, all four of our Ascham teams completed the qualifying paper in two hours, under exam conditions. Thorough research, futuristic thinking, time management, task delegation, teamwork and resilience were required for this paper. All four teams were well-prepared and we were thrilled when one team qualified for the National Finals and headed off to Brisbane last weekend.
The National Final was a fast-paced and rigorous comp for our team of Ines, Willow, Poppy and Abigail and reserves Jemima and Daphne. First up, they had two hours to complete a booklet, then straight into a three-hour creative challenge to present their solution to an audience, using specific quantities of foil, paper towel, paper plates, pipe cleaners, paper cups and string. They were also required to use two mystery props, an empty Coke bottle and a squeegee, and a quote (‘One person’s trash is another person’s treasure’) in their presentation. Our team formulated a highly engaging and thought-provoking performance.
While the team did not place in the booklet component, they were awarded equal 4th place in the competition for their performance. This wonderful result is a testament to the tenacity and willingness of the students to work together, share ideas, challenge their thinking, and push themselves to new heights. Congratulations, girls!
The reserves from different schools were placed together to form teams and complete the booklet component under exam conditions. The team including our reserve Jemima was awarded 2nd place. Congratulations, Jemima!
Ascham is a school that fosters critical thinking, team work and logical problem-solving. We are so proud of our students for their efforts and achievement in this competition.
