By CAROLINE STRAINIG
LOCAL gifted school children had the chance to put their brains to the test in a fun challenge last week.
Hastings Valley Community of Schools ran its fifth Primary Gifted and Talented student challenge at Tacking Point Surf Life Saving Club on Wednesday.
The day involved two teams of four students from each of Hastings, Port Macquarie, Tacking Point, Telegraph Point, Wauchope and Westport public schools competing in three problem-solving tasks requiring some higher order and critical thinking.
Westport High staff Ian Mavin, Erica Browning and Debbie Irwin along with DEC consultant Sue MacGibbon spent several months developing tasks which were both fun and challenging for the talented primary students.
Students from Westport High’s top Year 10 science class were keen helpers on the day, assisting with equipment and helping out with ideas.
The first task ‘Oobleck: The slime planet’ was science based with teams determining the properties of slime and developing a vehicle capable of moving on a slime planet.
The second task (mathematics based) saw all of the students out on Lighthouse Beach using lots of sand to develop a sandcastle-themed incline to propel a golf ball a maximum distance, with bonus points for tunnels and ramps or jumps.
The third task was of a more creative nature and required students to write and perform a patriotic song (sung to the tune of Waltzing Matilda) to celebrate the establishment of the first Australian colony on Mars in 2056.
Hastings Primary School principal Grant Heaton turned up to inspect the action and was pleasantly surprised when his school was awarded first place in all three tasks and therefore overall winner – with the perpetual shield going back to his school for the third year in a row.
Honourable mentions go to Wauchope primary which came equal first in the creative task and second overall, and tacking Point primary coming in a close third on the day.
The day certainly proved to be an outstanding success with all involved eagerly committing to next year’s event and the chance to wrestle the shield from Hastings primary.
