Making a splash in STEM

Students from Cloverdale Education Support Centre have found a creative way to tackle a common rainy-day trouble, by waterproofing their shoes using recycled umbrellas.  

This year, Cloverdale was among the first Education Support Centres to participate in the prestigious Game Changer Awards, an annual event that invites students in Years 3 to 10 to participate in an innovative STEM competition.

This year’s event was the first to welcome students from Education Support Centres and Special Needs Education programs.  

Teams were tasked with developing a solution to a problem of their choice, based on the United Nations' 17 sustainability goals. They were then invited to the Game Changer Award event, where teams displayed and presented their project to the judges. 

Three prizes were awarded in each age category, being Best Overall, Best Presentation, and Best Use of STEM. 

Cloverdale’s team developed a sustainable solution to a common problem - wet shoes when playing outside.  

Using broken or old umbrellas, the students created and tested waterproof coverings for their shoes. 

Tatiana Marcondes, a teacher at Cloverdale ESC said she hopes that her student's participation will help to motivate other education support centres to participate in future events.  

“The Game Changer Awards were fantastic. I am so proud of our students,” she said. 

“It was great to see some of our students mixing with the mainstream students and asking questions about their projects. 

“Hopefully next year we can have more special needs and education support centres participating.” 

Premila Jina, chair of the Game Changer Awards, also hopes to see more regional and diverse students participating in future events.

“We all have different superpowers. I hope that we are providing an avenue for diverse, unique children to bring out their superpowers,” she said 

Several other schools stood out at this year’s events, collecting awards: 

Mount Claremont Primary School: Best Overall (Year 3-4) and Best Presentation (Year 5-6)  

Rostrata Primary School: Best use of STEM (Year 5-6)  

Harrisdale Senior High School: Best Overall, Best Presentation and the Chair’s Award (Year 9-10) 

Schools interested in registering a team for next year’s Game Changer Awards can find more information through the website.