A group of Mission Heights Junior College (MHJC) pupils have won the annual national Tournament of Minds (TOM) academic competition.
The team consisted of students Kiana Paoo, Anu Gill, Alexander Manuel, Saketh Jandhyala, Joy Pillay, Manaspreet Kaur, Neil Mathew, Jay Govindji, Shubhreet Kaur, Diseni Ratnayake, Sa-lote Lavemai, Vrinda Sharma, Sophia Zhao, Jasleen Brar, Jackson Jia, Jubilee Ting, Jennifer Sun, Saanvi Sethi, Ethan Jo, Sophia Bassano and Ronak Chan.
TOM NZ director Jocelyn Pollock congratulated the students, saying their results in this year’s competition were exceptional.
“Winning the secondary division at the national tournament in Science, Technology Engineering, and Maths (STEM) and Social Sciences plus receiving Honours in Language Literature is a fantastic outcome,” she says.
Since its inception in 2004, TOM has become a rapidly growing international academic competition focusing on collaborative problem-solving strategies, with 40,000 students from Australia, Hong Kong, Thailand, South Africa and UAE.
Following their win at the regional level earlier this year, the MHJC students spent countless hours preparing for the nationals.
The criteria had become a two-part contest (long-term and spontaneous) giving them just three hours to design costumes, props, creative problem solving, write and perform their solutions.
The team has now qualified for the international final next month in Melbourne.
MHJC principal Ian Morrison says the students’ success is a result of their hard work and creative problem-solving skills as well as inspiration from the teachers.
“We are very proud of everyone and wish them a safe journey and a stimulating experience in Melbourne. Passionate students and committed teachers are powerful ingredients as we fulfil our mission of growing greatness,” Morrison says.
If you would like to donate towards the MHJC team’s trip to compete at the TOM international finals, you can visit the school’s Givealittle page by clinking the link.
Similarly, you can visit Givealittle and search ‘Mission Heights Junior College’.
