Gifted Education

Junior Primary Challenge

Oh—What A Year!

Investigating flight and big bold buildings.

We discussed big ideas about what it means to be able to fly from bees to rockets. I researched the blue banded bee and discovered that it was a solitary bee and did not live in a hive like other bees so does not have to fly too far like honey worker bees. They have strong muscles around the thorax to help the bee work its two sets of wings. Markus

We thought about all the different things that fly like insects, planes, seeds and spiders and how they all use different methods to move through the air. A parachuting spider flies off on a single strand of strong web and lets the wind take it to wherever it blows so the spider can start a new colony in a different place. Gus

We felt sad at how many big bold buildings around the world have been destroyed and happy that UNESCO now protects heritage buildings like the Great Wall of China so people can see it and learn about history. Buildings tell stories about the times they were built and the people who built them.

Shayne

We were inspired by the Wright Brothers and the first powered controlled flight after the two brothers studied how birds fly and how bicycles stay upright on just two wheels. Then they thought that these ideas would work with a plane and it did—the first ever powered controlled flight. Cyrus

I really liked the day we had the 'Fly Off' and made parachutes, designed paper planes, blew bubbles and watched how they moved through the air. Some Year 6 Challenge boys made a soda rocket blast into the air. We also threw frisbees to observe how they fly differently and made comparisons with hot air balloons. Yixuan

We designed planes of the future and I designed one that would have recycled plastic wings and use fuel made from plants. This will make the planet not so heavy and be better for the environment by not having bad exhaust from the engine. Ari We co-operated and shared our ideas on how different buildings like Stonehenge were built and why it is still standing today. I wondered how they got the big stones to stand up and then I made a model of Stonehenge in class with my Challenge buddy who is in Year 4.

Leonard Li

We wondered about how a big aeroplane like the A380 can fly and stay up in the sky. I now know how it does because I learnt about the forces of gravity which are lift, thrust, weight and drag. I also learnt that they are building smaller and faster passenger planes that will not have as many environmental problems. Lucas

I was obsessed with how a catapult or trebuchet works and how they can knock down castle walls. I also researched the Colosseum of Rome and how that design is still used today for our sporting stadia. I also compared how javelin throwing is similar to the catapult and used a dog ball thrower to demonstrate.

William

We loved playing Maths Circus and Estimating Angles at Open House and working with boys from other classes on different Maths activities.

Lucas and Ryan

We contemplated the wonders of nature and how a ladybird and other insects can unfold their wings for flight then refold them and tuck them under their outer harder wings. I did a lot of research on bees.

Hugo

We reflected on the mysterious mathematical miracle of the Great Pyramids of Egypt and built one in class out of honeycomb blocks. Some of the blocks used in the Great Pyramid of Giza were the size and weight of elephants.

Ben

We trialled new ideas and built a Leaning Tower of Pizza Boxes with some Year 6 Challenge boys based on what we learnt about the real Leaning Tower of Pisa. I built a tower out of sugar cubes with my Year 4 mentor, Tristan. We discovered that the foundations of the real tower in Pisa were constructed on soft clay and sand and that is not strong enough for a building made of marble which is heavy.

Charlie

I was very interested in skyscrapers and how they are so tall and do not fall down. We learnt that tall towers are built of lighter materials but have a very strong base. I visited the tallest tower in Japan which is called the Skytree and it is 634 metres tall. We also learnt that circular shaped towers make it easy for the wind to move around the tower.

Leon

I loved making paper planes and having competitions to see whose design would fly the furthest. I also like making parachutes to drop off the balcony at school.

Daniel

I hoped to learn more about how bees navigate and about the teddy bear bee because my name is Teddy. I also read a lot about the peregrine falcon because it is the fastest vertical flying bird in the world.

Edward

We thought about how different structures are built and how they stay up. We know that buildings need a strong base and bridges need to have strong supports. We built some bridges in class to test their strength.

William

We wanted to explore number patterns and we really liked working with some of the boys in Year 4 with Mrs Elkins. We liked building the Great Wall of China with the wooden blocks in class.

Ethan and Peregrine

I liked being able to learn new things and draw my ideas. I liked drawing the shapes around our School when we were looking at buildings and what makes buildings stay up, like the Sydney Opera House and the Sydney Harbour Bridge.

Sebastian

Senior Primary Challenge

Through the eyes of the students.

Year 6

We participated in several competitions this year, such as the da Vinci Decathlon, the Junior Ethics Olympiad, Model UN, Future Problem Solving, Maths Olympiad and the Maths Challenge for Young Australians.

Future Problem Solving (FPS)

The future, as hard as it is to solve the problems of something that doesn’t yet exist, we in the FPS group tried to do just that. We had to consider how Hydro cities might affect different aspects of life like economics, physical and psychological health, social structures, ethics etc. It was a year-long, fun club and we did so much research and critical thinking.

Oliver, Wei-Yi and William Sydney Writers’ Festival

We loved the Sydney Writers’ Festival where we had four entertaining authors including Corey Tutt (OAM and founder of ‘Deadly Science’, supporting remote Australian schools) to inspire us in writing.

Connor and Oscar Model UN

32 countries were represented. Arjun and I represented France. The question was: ‘Should all countries have to provide foreign aid?’ We said countries with a GDP over 1 trillion should have to, not others. We almost won the vote but then one country changed their mind and Russia won! Archer and Arjun

Ethics Olympiad

A competition to test students’ ethical thinking, teamwork, and strategy. A game of wits where with well-timed info, strong arguments and smart thinking a team can come out on top. This competition was such fun, and it really had all our minds ticking. I love how our team collaborated so well. We ended up placing 12th place out of 60.

Edward

Year 5

We studied tectonic plates and causes of earthquakes. I enjoyed researching volcanoes. Fun fact, did you know that Krakatoa’s eruption soundwave travelled the world 7 times?!

Lyon

Working on Newton’s Laws of Motion with Ms Elkins was very exciting and innovative.

Thomas

We learnt that extremophiles are creatures that can withstand extreme environments.

Rafael

The earthquake experiment kept us so entertained that most of us stayed in for lunch.

Harry

Year 4

The Mathematics Olympiad ...was quite hard, but I still got a very good mark. The last question was really difficult because it messed with my brain.

Terrence

...was a tricky five monthly challenge with five questions on each. I got 100% on the first one, so I was proud about that and I did very well overall.

Gideon

Created Fantasy Worlds

I enjoyed it. It allowed me to expand my imagination.

Tristan

I loved it! It was incredibly fun, and I enjoyed it so much that I worked on it at home!

Jasper

A Hydrasnail from my world.

Max

We loved the GATEWAYS Challenge with Queenwood— preparing for it and the actual event!

Hugo, Pierce and Edmond

Year 3/4

The Maths Challenge for Young Australians (MCYA) was...

Absolutely fabulous. A fun and challenging task that we could do at home, or anywhere for that matter.

Felix and Jonathan

My favourite thing because it let me stretch my brain and think more about Maths.

Luke

Quite challenging and I loved how we combined our brains to solve the tricky problems.

Mitchell

Year 3

Plant experiments

I experimented with Geotropism: how roots always follow gravity. It was really fun.

Louis

We loved planting sunflowers and learning how to tend to a living thing.

Jonah and Aidan

I was interested to watch my plant grow. On day four, I saw a little sprout. After camp, I saw a seedling with the seed coat on one of the leaves. Today the seed coat has dropped off. I wonder what will happen next.

Sebastian

We learnt how to germinate plants and tend to them. After camp, Harry’s pot had two sprouts, but for Theo, there was no sprouting in sight, so we put another seed in and... ‘Eureka!’

Theo and Harry

I really enjoyed the book, ‘Boy’ because it was fun, thrilling and suspenseful. My favourite part was when the children took the lollies out of the jar and replaced them with a mouldy rat!

Sam