St Brigid’s Tournament team, from left, Calvin, Alex, Indra, Tom H, Tahlia, Ryley and Tom O.By Kath Gannaway
A COMBINATION of keen minds and a touch of melodrama has won seven St Brigid’s Primary School students a place at the Australasian Pacific final of Tournament of the Minds.
After winning the Maths and Engineering category at regional level the Healesville students from grades 4, 5 and 6, who have been supported throughout the tournament by teachers Amelia Trompf and Natalie Bamfield, went on to take top honours in the state finals on 9 September at La Trobe University.
The team’s original challenge was to work together on a long-term challenge for six weeks, with no outside assistance, to come up with their best possible solution.
Encouraged to explore possibilities and experiment with ideas, they then had to come up with a creative way to communicate that solution to others on Tournament Day.
In the final the students were given three hours to complete another challenge with spontaneous challenges in between.
Knowing their strengths was critical.
“They were looking for creativity, originality and teamwork,” team member Calvin explained.
“So we said we wanted to be judged on melodrama and accents for the play where we presented our solution to the judges.”
Still bristling with excitement last week, team members told the Mail they were now looking forward to the next big tournament in Canberra in October.
And that presents another challenge. How do they get to Canberra – a 10-hour trip by bus, or a relaxing (and more exciting) plane trip?
Almost everyone wants to go by plane. And, while they acknowledge it is a more expensive option, they are savvy enough to make a good case for it.
Naturally, they want to perform at their peak, and do their school, their families, Healesville and Victoria proud.
“For most of us it would be really tiring going in the bus,” says one student with no particular accent, but an admirable grasp of melodrama.
