Da Vinci Decathlon 2024
The Da Vinci Decathlon is an academic competition designed to challenge and stimulate the minds of school students.
Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519) was one of the world’s greatest thinkers and scholars. Da Vinci demonstrated an ability to perceive the interconnected nature of knowledge and he embraced learning with a lifelong passion and determination to uncover the unknown. The Decathlon competition places a particular emphasis on higher order thinking skills, problem solving and creativity.
The Decathlon is designed to celebrate the academic gifts of Australian youth by providing a stimulating and challenging competition run in the spirit of an Olympic Decathlon.
Students compete in teams of eight across ten disciplines: Engineering, Mathematics, Code Breaking, Art and Poetry, Science, English, Ideation, Creative Producers, Cartography, and Legacy.
St Clare’s High School was well represented in the Newcastle-Maitland Diocesan teams to contest the Hunter Region Da Vinci Decathlon.
The following talented students had an early start at Bishop Tyrrell Anglican College this week to compete:
Year 7: Tristan Ma and Oscar Yeates
Year 9: Oliver Collins
Year 10: Bonnie McMaster
This year's competition was a great success, with many outstanding performances from the students. The competition was tough, and all the participants demonstrated their excellent academic skills, creativity, and problem-solving abilities.
Diocesan results were as follows:
Art and Poetry – underscoring their creativity and ability to express themselves through various mediums:
Year 10: 1st Maitland Newcastle CSO Team
Cartography- interpret extremely challenging problems using mapping:
Year 7: 2nd Maitland Newcastle CSO Team
Code Breaking – highlighting their analytical thinking and problem-solving skills:
Year 7: 2nd Maitland Newcastle CSO Team
Year 9: 1st Maitland Newcastle CSO Team
Code Breaking - reflecting proficiency in logical reasoning and cryptography:
Year 10: 1st Maitland Newcastle CSO Team
Engineering - limited supplies are given to build a working model of an engineering design that must adhere to specific criteria:
Year 7: 3rd Maitland Newcastle CSO Team
English – spelling, word origins, definitions, textual analysis, and writing tasks:
Year 7: 3rd Maitland Newcastle CSO Team
Ideation – tasked with a social issue to solve:
Year 7: 2nd Maitland Newcastle CSO Team
Legacy - general knowledge:
Year 7: 1st Maitland Newcastle CSO Team
Mathematics – problem-solving, number patterns and logic puzzles:
Year 7: 1st Maitland Newcastle CSO Team
Science – showcasing continued engagement with scientific concepts:
Year 9: 3rd Maitland Newcastle CSO Team
Year 10: 3rd Maitland Newcastle CSO Team
More importantly than the incredible results, the students were stretched in so many ways. They learnt and applied critical thinking skills, tested their creativity, and grew so much within themselves and within their team. To get through such a day, they had to put the needs of the team before their own.
Leonardo Da Vinci said, “Learning never exhausts the mind”; though the students were physically exhausted at the end of the day, this wonderful opportunity sparked passion, ignited ideas, and set their minds aflame with possibility.
Special thanks to the parents and Alysha Jones for transporting students to this event.
Finally, the outstanding overall team performance for the 2024 Hunter Region Da Vinci Decathlon was:
Year 7: Maitland-Newcastle CSO Team (Hunter Region Champions)
Year 7 Maitland-Newcastle Diocesan Team - Hunter Region Champions
Front Row Second from left Tristan Ma & Oscar Yeates
Good luck to Tristan Ma and Oscar Yeates, of Year 7, who will have the opportunity to compete in the NSW State Championships Da Vinci Decathlon to be held at Knox Grammar School on 14 May.
Congratulations to our very talented students on their teamwork and dedication- we are very proud of you.
Year 7 Maitland- Newcastle Diocesan team with Tristan Ma and Oscar Yeates
Year 9 Maitland- Newcastle Diocesan team with Oliver Collins
Year 10 Maitland- Newcastle Diocesan team with Bonnie McMaster
Julie Rowsell
Gifted Education Mentor