By ALESHA CAPONE
STUDENTS and teachers at Overnewton Anglican Community College are racing towards the future with some innovative environmentally-friendly vehicles.
Pupils from the school recently took part in the RACV Energy Breakthrough in Maryborough, which had over 300 entries from schools across the state.
Overnewton teacher Tim Shovelton said four Year 9 teams and a senior team, who studied an elective on sustainable travel and technology called Racing for the Future, participated in the contest.
The school entered the Human Powered Vehicle (HPV), Try-athlon and Energy Efficient Vehicle (EEV) categories.
“It’s a real-life learning opportunity for students so they have a meaningful experience where they have a successful outcome or have to deal with whatever issues happen along the way, no matter what happens,” Mr Shovelton said.
Year 10 student Kevin and his father David Semmens were involved with the project.
“With the support of parents, friends, sponsors, and the community, Overnewton hopes to improve their future with the RACV Energy Breakthrough,” Kevin said.
Year 9 pupils Tessa and Charlotte, from the college’s Taylors Lakes campus, spent 24 hours riding laps on a bicycle as part of the competition.
They also had to make a presentation about the project to a panel of judges.
“I was to look at the construction and safety of the bike and how the bike was constructed, what it was constructed with, what types of metal were used and safety aspects, such as why there was a seatbelt on the bicycle,” Tessa said.
The girls, both 15, said they were overwhelmed with joy when they finished the cycling course.
“We were so relieved and happy and over the moon,” Charlotte said.
“We were glad our hard work had paid off and it was totally worth it.”
