Gifted Education Program News

Tournament of Minds 2022 International Final – Canberra ACT

Queensland was represented by eight teams at the 2022 TOM International Final. Four of those teams are Ashgrove teams. 

On Thursday 13th October, 25 students, five members of staff and several parents boarded a plane bound for Canberra. Arriving in the Nation’s Capital shortly after 6:00pm, we travelled to our accommodation and went in search of dinner. With the choice of a number of take-away restaurants in Chinatown, the boys were happy to head for the Golden Arches, guaranteed of a tried-and-tested meal, or in one case, feast. 

Friday was an early start, in order to have all of the teams from across Australia and New Zealand in the Great Hall at Australia’s Parliament House in time for the Welcome Ceremony. From there, teams set off on a Scavenger Hunt that took each of them to various locations around the National Triangle, before returning to our hotel for dinner, a reminder of the trip’s purpose and an early night. 

Saturday, the day of competition, meant an even earlier start with a trip on the light rail followed by a brisk walk to ANU. Each team went to their respective preparation venues and spent three hours developing a solution to the challenge. Presentations followed lunch and then there was a break with entertainment to help pass the time. After dinner, the winning teams and those who placed second in their discipline were announced. Unfortunately, none of our teams were called to the stage, but, from all the comments from a number of people, I think each of our teams won the entertainment award – just a shame there isn’t actually an award for being the most entertaining team! 

Sunday – a bit of a sleep-in, breakfast and packing to be out of the hotel by 9:00am. All teams headed to Questacon to enjoy the amazing interactive displays that are on offer. It was also an opportunity to meet up with new friends. Lunch, shopping in Canberra Centre and then the bus to the airport. There were a lot of tired bodies returning to Brisbane. 

I have to congratulate the young men who made the trip to Canberra. What an incredible group and outstanding representatives of Marist College Ashgrove. The older boys looked after the younger boys and made sure they were safe when moving around the various activities. Other schools commented on the camaraderie among our boys and the way they interacted with students from other schools - so very proud of these boys and of all the Tournament boys. 

My sincere thanks also to the accompanying staff – Mrs Rhonda Carson, Mrs Lucy Naughton, Mr Andrew Devoy and Mr William Burkett. Their generosity and commitment to caring for the boys, and their company, just made the trip easy and enjoyable. Thanks also to the parents who accompanied us and supported us in whatever we were doing. Sincere thanks to our Accounts Department at the College, especially Mrs Nattasha Gonzalez and Mrs Toni Martin who managed the financial side of the trip. Finally, thanks to Mr Michael Newman for his support of the Tournament of Minds program and for enabling the trip to Canberra. 

Tournament of Minds International Finalists are:

Primary ARTS: Olivier CANNING, J-D COOTES, Kayden KYOUNG, Callum NOWERS, Henry WALKER and Lucas WEIGL.

Secondary ARTS: James ALLPASS, Ben ALLPASS, Lewis ATZENI, George BISHOP, Aidan BRIZA and Daniel O’KEEFFE.

Secondary Lang Lit: Ashleigh BISHOP, Harry COOTES, Daniel CUSACK, Gian NETZLER, Sammy PLUMB and Henry PURCELL.

Secondary Social Sciences: Matthew ALVAREZ, Tim BENNETT, Rafael BERKOVICH-ROBLES, Ben HARTFIEL, Joshua JONES, George POLLARD and Luke RABIE.

Maths/Science Club

The program for Term 4 is as follows:

• Week 2: Maths Club – Neural networks
• Week 3: Science Club – Try explosions of some kind/chemistry prac - CANCELLED
• Week 4: Maths Club – Brain teasers
• Week 5: Science Club – Bottle rockets  
• Week 6: Science Club – Brain dissection