August 3 saw 12 teams from three Adventist Christian Schools in Sydney compete in the inaugural STEM Challenge Day for Years 7 and 8. Students worked in teams of three to design, construct and present their solution to the brief of making an “automatic” table tennis server.
With a timeframe of only 4 hours this was quite a challenge, but they enjoyed the task of problem solving and applying the principles of maths, science and technology to construct their device. Two retired teachers judged the teams based on pre-set criteria around design, quality of final product, function of device, team work, learning log and presentation.
While some teams struggled with constructing a workable device, most were able to launch a table tennis ball. In the end, there was only one point between the top two teams, with a team from Macarthur Adventist College coming first with a simple and elegant design. This team won two small programmable robots for their school and all students received a certificate.
Students stated they enjoyed the STEM challenge as it forced them to think and they tried something new. They all enjoyed experimenting, working in groups and friendship building with new people. We learnt that whenever you make something there will be problems that you will have to solve.
The Seventh-day Adventist Church operates 5,846 schools worldwide with a total enrolment of over 1 million students. Across Australia we administer 58 Adventist schools catering for over 12,000 students. This network of experience and care enables us to provide your child with education of the highest quality in an ideal environment for them to learn and grow academically, and as a person.
At the heart of Adventist education is a belief that children achieve true growth when their mental, physical and spiritual needs are met. With a focus on personal attention to your child, our independent schools provide a nurturing and caring learning environment where Christian values are upheld.
To discover more, see a list of our schools across Greater Sydney below or contact our team at 02 9868 6522.
Greater Sydney Adventist Schools website
sydney.adventist.org.au/ministries/education
