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.

Students compete in teams of eight across ten disciplines:  engineering, mathematics and chess, code breaking, art and poetry, science, English, ideation, creative producers, cartography, and legacy.

St Clare’s was well represented in the Newcastle-Maitland Diocesan teams.  The following students had an early start at Bishop Tyrrell Anglican College.  Our talented participants were:

Year 7:  Adele Whitehouse-Miotto
Year 8:  Oliver Collins
Year 9:  Bonnie McMaster
Year 10:  Rory Byrne, William Gibson, Kaeden Gonzalez and Rachel Su

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 1^st place results were as follows:

Art and Poetry – developing an original poem and connected artwork on a given theme:

Year 7:  1^st Maitland-Newcastle CSO Team
Year 9:  1^st Maitland-Newcastle CSO Team

Mathematics – problem-solving, number patterns and logic puzzles:

Year 8:  1^st Maitland Newcastle CSO Team
Year 9:  1^st Maitland Newcastle CSO Team

English – spelling, word origins, definitions, textual analysis, and writing tasks:

Year 8:  1^st Maitland Newcastle CSO Team
Year 9:  1^st Maitland Newcastle CSO Team
Year 10:  1^st Maitland Newcastle CSO Team

Code Breaking – deciphering complex, mysterious codes:

Year 8:  1^st Maitland Newcastle CSO Team
Year 10:  1^st Maitland Newcastle CSO Team

Science – engage with higher-level scientific concepts and test your ability to apply them:

Year 10:  1^st Maitland Newcastle CSO Team

Finally, outstanding overall team performances for the 2023 Hunter Region Da Vinci Decathlon were:

Year 8:  Maitland-Newcastle CSO Team (Hunter Region Champions)
Year 9:  Maitland-Newcastle CSO Team (Hunter Region Champions)
Year 10:  Maitland-Newcastle CSO Team (2^nd in Hunter Region)

Student’s Thoughts:

'The decathlon event was loads of fun, everyone was really nice, and it was overall a great experience'.  Kaeden Gonzalez (Year 10)

'On Tuesday the 9^th of May, I attended the Da Vinci Decathlon, which is an academic competition.  It was a big day, and between Year 7 & 8, there were 25 teams(with 8 people in each) from lots of different schools.  Despite the questions being difficult, it was a great day, and I made some new friends and had a lot of fun.  The Year 7 team won 1^st place in Art and Poetry, and my team(in the Year 8 division) won first place in three subjects:  Math, English and Code breaking, we also won the overall event.  I wouldn’t have been able to win the event without my team, to whom I’m incredibly grateful.  Oliver Collins (Year 8)

Good luck to Oliver Collins and Bonnie McMaster who will have the opportunity to compete in the NSW State Decathlon, at Knox Grammar School on 25 July. 

Oliver Collins 

Congratulations to all students that participated in this challenge.  You have been wonderful ambassadors for St Clare’s High School. We are very proud of all of you. 

Julie Rowsell
Gifted Education Mentor