H
YEAR BY YEAR
Middle School
iDesign 2014 The new building came in to its own when a crowd in excess of 400 circulated past the more than 150 projects on display for iDesign 2014. All of the boys were excited and eager to show off their hard work and had earlier enjoyed a similar carnival atmosphere with the Year 7 People’s Choice Award. Earlier in the year the boys were asked to:
Decide on a passion or interest (this should be about what YOU want to do) Turn that into a plan (everyone NEEDS a plan!) Find a mentor (because YOU (and everyone else) needs help) Keep a log of your progress (take notes and photographs or video) Then iDesign! (We can’t wait to see what you come up with!) You need to be organised (Time management is a key to success) Max Freeman was the winner of the Interactive Award for Excellence and was presented with a fantastic trophy and $250 JB HiFi voucher from Interactive. The following statement from guest judge and CEO of Interactive Mr Christopher Ride best sums up the success of the 2014 iDesign project. “What a thrill it was to be part of the BGS iDesign Awards once again – many thanks for allowing me to be involved. The boys were absolutely outstanding this year. It is a testament to both you and the school that it is possible to deliver such great/big-thinking work from such posed and confident young men.” Christopher Ride CEO of Interactive Max constructed a pinball machine and in his explanation below one gains a better understanding of the depth of this process. “The motivation for the Energize Me Pinball Machine was to create an interactive iDesign that involved both design and construction skills. Over the last six months I explored the world of pinball, visiting one of the last remaining manufacturers in Chicago, as well as a pinball workshop here in Melbourne. The challenge of the play board design was to create a fun and engaging game. The theme that I 204 GRAMMARIAN 2014
chose, the hierarchy of energy sources, then needed to be integrated into the playing field. The construction process involved piecing together all the layers including flippers, bumpers, ball paths, etc. The culmination was when I could finally pull back the plunger and play my own pinball machine!” Max Freeman winner of the Interactive Award for Excellence. The positive relationships developed between each boy and their mentor is at the heart of this initiative. Allowing the boys to develop their own true passion with a mentor of their own choosing is also central to the breadth and depth of the projects submitted. Past iDesigns are living on in some amazing ways including work such as Henry McDowell’s,competed in iDesign 2012. Henry, now in Year 10, created a film animation of a story he wrote in English and his film is a finalist in the prestigious ATOM film awards to be judged on 29th October. Sam Ryan produced an amazing piece of artwork in 2012 and he has since completed two other pieces to add to his original and this is now on display in the new Middle School. The Headmaster has approved for the indigenous jumper Joel Crocker created for iDesign 2014 to be worn by a BGS team for a game next season hopefully to coincide with the AFL Indigenous Round. The Dalziel Club have agreed to fund this wonderful initiative. I would like all involved to look back and reflect on iDesign and I wish to congratulate all of you on undertaking the challenge. I would like to finish with the following quote once told to be by my English teacher of Irish heritage when I was in Year 8. “Tri na cheile a thogtar na caisleain” Together we can build castles Congratulations to all iDesigners for 2014. Mr Jamie Watson, iDesign Co-ordinator