Opti-minds success
The Opti-MINDS Challenge is an opportunity for all those with a passion for learning & problem solving to showcase their skills & talents in an exciting, vibrant & public way. Teams are required to work together on a Long Term Challenge for up to six weeks without assistance from anyone outside the team. Participants are encouraged to explore possibilities & experiment with ideas as they endeavour to produce their best possible solution. They develop creative & original ways to communicate this solution to others, working within predefined parameters such as limited materials, complex Challenge criteria & the deadlines of The Challenge Day.
Students present the product of their ideas - their Challenge solution - to a panel of judges & an audience on Challenge Day. They have 10 minutes in which to present & must do so in a 3 x 3 metre (Approx.) performance area. The teams must also participate in an unseen Spontaneous Challenge on Opti-MINDS Day. This Challenge requires rapid interchange of ideas, the ability to think effectively, creatively, & well-developed group cooperation skills.
Judges for both the Long Term & the Spontaneous Challenges are professionals chosen from all areas of education, the arts & industry. They are thoroughly trained to enable them to assess the creative performance & technical aspects of the presentation
The categories that students can nominate in are Language & Literature, Science Engineering, and Social Science. Western Cape College sent 4 teams to compete in the Regional Challenge with two teams receiving first place, and the other two coming second.
The Year 8 Science Engineering team who won, had the challenge of building a machine which would transport marbles from one point to another without touching the marbles. Points were awarded for distance travelled and the number of marbles transferred.
The other winning team was WCC Team 3, the Lion King. This team entered in the Language Literature category and had to “read themselves” into a professionally published story. The team needs to create & present what happens in the story once they arrive.
The winning teams now travel to Brisbane to compete in the State finals, where they will be given a challenge, materials, and three hours to develop their presentation.