Kalamunda Christian School (KCS) Year 6 students have won the Primary section of the Western Australian Tournament of Minds (TOM) competition after two weekend competitions at Edith Cowan University in Joondalup on Saturday, 2 and 16 September 2023.
The team of six girls, under the tutelage of Year 6 teacher Mrs Coralie Nancarrow, is headed to the International Final in Melbourne next month.
What is 鈥楾ournament of Minds鈥�, and why is this a significant victory for KCS and our 疯马歌舞秀 schools?
TOM is a problem-solving program for teams of students that involves students working together on prepared presentations to large audiences and 鈥榮pontaneous responses鈥� to a panel of judges.
Year 6 teacher Mrs Nancarrow says that the competition aims to grow independent thinkers but also to increase teamwork amongst students to present concepts and solutions to university-level judges:
鈥淚 am so proud of our team. They have tackled each challenge enthusiastically and creatively, and it has been wonderful watching them design solutions to real-world problems. Their teamwork skills are exemplary, and they have impressed the judges throughout the competition with their higher-order thinking skills. Bring on the International Finals!鈥�
The KCS team of Mia, Amber, Piper, Amelia, Caitlin, and Audrey could not believe they had won the State Final on Saturday.
KCS entered the competition for the first time in 2022.
More than 100 schools from across Western Australia participated in the competition, with secondary schools St Hilda鈥檚 School for Girls, Sacred Heart College and Esperance Primary School also winning through to the finals.
Congratulations to Mrs Nancarrow for her hours of hard work with the students from KCS. We will wait to see whether the KCS team wins the world title in October and whether Mrs Nancarrow wins a 疯马歌舞秀 service award for putting up with six rambunctious but talented students to Melbourne and back!
