Congratulations to Millie Edwards and Bea McGlashen for securing the top spot in the recent National Robocup Competition held in Auckland.

Millie and Bea participated in the premier theater competition category, impressively programming their robots to deliver a captivating performance set to a medley of ABBA songs. Their innovative presentation featured four robots representing each of the ABBA band members, with an additional robot responsible for extending a section of the stage during the performance.

The attention to detail was remarkable, from the robots' costumes to the 3D-printed microphones used by the robot singers, all complemented by the students' coordinated costumes. This achievement is a testament to the countless hours of dedication and hard work invested to ensure an almost error-free execution on the competition day. Well done, Millie and Bea.

The day was set to be a thriller and it delivered right to the very end! 

Both Year 5 and Year 6 were full of nerves for the introduction. But they all set off with enthusiasm to their first challenge. Both teams attempted the ‘Rat Wheel’. This challenge was to harness energy from a running rat wheel through a voltage meter to convert power to move a remote control car motor.      

It was a tough challenge! The Year 5 team battled to make the wheel shape and mount it on the base. However, with perseverance and communication, they got there in the end! They worked very well as a team and learnt a lot from their first experience in a competition. Well done Metallic Stars!

The Year 6 team managed to generate power however, they couldn’t harness the power to the motors. So it came down to a tie-break with three teams, including the Year 6 Lightning Rods. So another 5-minute challenge was set to find the team going through to the semi-final. This challenge was to build the tallest tower to hoist a wheel at the highest height. 

There was panic, screaming and frantic building but we never managed to get the wheel attached…but neither did the other 2 teams! 

So the organiser added one more minute!

The parents were shouting, the teachers were shouting and the students were shouting - the noise was unbelievable. The 10-second countdown was utter chaos. 

“3-2-1 everyone stop,” shouted the organiser. School 1 did not have its wheel attached. School 2 did have a wheel attached but as soon as the tower stood alone it crashed to the ground leaving The Lightning Rods with a wheel precariously attached to a wavering tower.

Nevertheless, it was enough to put them through to the semi-finals.

Congratulations Year 6 Lightning Rods!

A select number of students were privileged to be part of an audience who listened to 17 amazing start up companies.  All of these companies were founded by women.  They had all undergone a 12 week accelerator programme with support of various business mentors.  There 5 min pitches allowed our students to hear the vast array of innovative businesses that are punching well above their weight.  

The SMC students who got to attend this event were from the Young Enterprise Scheme teams and they are studying Business Studies at year 13.  Earlier in the week these students had themselves had a chance to pitch their own products.  Listening to the women CEO and COOs the students realised that the gap between school and managing a real business is not too far apart.  The asking capital ranged between $250k to millions which was probably the most significant difference. 

We look forward to following some of these businesses as they realise their potential in the market.

The Y5 & 6 EPro8 Internal competition brought together 4 teams to showcase their engineering, problem-solving, and innovation skills. The event was filled with thrilling moments that tested the girls' decision-making abilities and their ability to work together. The competition displayed a range of emotions, from tears of frustration to whoops of delight.

Ultimately, it was the Y6 Lightning Rods who emerged victorious, triumphing over their worthy opponents, the Chubby Dumplings. Their win can be attributed to their strategic decision-making skills.

The Y5 Metallic Stars also demonstrated incredible determination and perseverance, which paid off in the end. Their resilience shone through during the 'Teacher Dunk Tank' challenge, where their determination and teamwork helped them secure a narrow win over the other Y5 team, SMC Skyscrapers. 

With their exceptional performances, The Lightning Rods and The Metallic Stars have earned the opportunity to represent our school in the next round of interschool challenges. Congratulations to all the girls who faced these tough challenges head-on. Each student exhibited a remarkable display of engineering skills, problem-solving abilities, and innovative thinking.

In a remarkable show of teamwork, the St Margaret’s Y11 Girls team made their mark in the EPro8 Engineering Competition, securing an impressive 10th place in the grand final for Y11-13 students. Their outstanding performance against numerous male teams is a celebration of their skills and determination.

This year marked the first time the girls reached the grand final, an achievement that speaks volumes about their passion for attending Construction Club and their commitment to mentoring our younger teams.  Under the arcade game theme, they clocked the whole first challenge, completing each task successfully, where remaining calm under pressure was the key to completing these intricate tasks.

One of the highlights of the team's challenge was persevering to develop a tool to detect Tetris pieces using laser beams and creating every combination of Tetris blocks. 

We are immensely proud of the girls' achievements. They serve as an inspiration to our aspiring younger engineering teams, proving that gender is no barrier when it comes to excelling in STEM fields.

Audrey Campbell, Bindy O’Callaghan

TIC of EPr08 

(Engineering, Problem Solving & Innovation)