14 November 2023
Teams of brilliant students from both Poynter Primary School and Esperance Primary School recently won in their respective categories at the Tournament of Minds International Finals in Melbourne.
Tournament of Minds is a problem-solving program offered to teams of primary and secondary students. The competition challenges the teams to solve demanding, open-ended real-world challenges within a time limit.
The competition encourages the development of creative thinking, problem-solving skills, and teamwork.
Teams compete in four subjects, being STEM, Language Literature, the Arts, and Social Sciences.
Poynter Primary School students with their award.
Tournament of Minds specialist teacher at Poynter Primary School Alison Guhl supported the students at the tournament.
“It was a privilege to guide this incredible group of students into a champion STEM team,” Mrs Guhl said.
“They already possessed so much natural talent, particularly in the field of STEM, but to watch them grow as individuals, and most importantly a team, was an honour.”
All the students learned so much from the competition and had a great time in Melbourne.
“I was inspired by the other teams we competed against and learnt so much from them. I now have friendships with kids from all over Australia,” said Neve Wallis, Year 6 student.
The competition was fierce, with all Australian states and territories competing, as well as New Zealand.
Poynter blew the judges away with the complexity of their device, teamwork, and presentation skills and was crowned Tournament of Minds STEM International Champions.
Esperance Primary School also won with its solution in the Social Sciences category and its Year 5 team came 3rd in the Language Literature division.