YEAR 10 NATIONAL STEM CHALLENGE CHAMPIONS SHINE BRIGHT
The Science and Engineering Challenge is a nationwide STEM program presented by the University of Newcastle every year providing Year 9 and 10 students with unique science and engineering experiences beyond the classroom setting.
The National Championship assembles the best of the best, with the top eight schools from across Australia, each sending 32 students (256 in total). These eight teams have earned their place in this prestigious one-day National Final.
This year, the Pacific Hills Christian School Year 10 students were crowned the 2023 Science and Engineering Challenge champions. A team of 31 Year 10 Pacific Hills students participated. They were divided into eight teams. It was game on as our students competed in the eight exhilarating challenges, going head-to-head against the other seven schools.
Some of their challenges included building a bridge that could withstand eight kilograms of weight, constructing an eco-friendly house to collect maximum water supply and capable of withstanding an earthquake and typhoon, providing electricity to a city, communications through coding and other challenges. Across the day, students undertook eight STEM challenges.
Adapting to the unexpected, each of the eight Pacific Hills Christian School teams were formed randomly requiring our students to work as entirely new teams whilst undertaking the challenges that were also randomly assigned. This tested their capacity to adapt to unpredictable circumstances, persevere and work as unified teams to cross the line as number one.
“The teamwork of our students was excellent, and their innovative ideas to solve problems was inspirational. They showed resilience, perseverance and they fought hard in every challenge”, said Dr Quee, Science Research Coordinator at Pacific Hills. “Students were determined to positively spur each other on to claim first place.”
We celebrate the bright minds and God-given talent of our Year 10 STEM team. This accomplishment was remarkable and demonstrates their dedication, resilience, and commitment to excellence.
