Extended Learning

FIRST LEGO League Challenge

Last week, our two Emmaus teams, the Brickologists (Years 5–6) and Team Aqua (Years 7–9), competed at the FIRST LEGO League Challenge hosted by Pulteney Grammar School. With many schools participating, this event has grown into one of the strongest and most competitive robotics tournaments in South Australia. In recent years, Emmaus has performed very well in this competition. However, for most of our students, it was their very first FULL experience, and they spent much of the day learning the structure, expectations, and rhythm of a whole competition.

While we didn’t achieve the success we had hoped for in the robot game, both teams delivered excellent Innovation Project presentations, demonstrating creativity, teamwork, and a thoughtful understanding of this year’s theme, "Submerged." Students were tasked with identifying a real-world underwater problem and designing a solution that supports exploration, preservation, or discovery below the surface. Both groups centred their work on supporting underwater archaeology, presenting clever concepts aimed at protecting artifacts and improving diver efficiency and safety.

The senior team, Team Aqua, impressed judges with their enthusiasm, clarity, and design thinking, earning a nomination for the Motivate Award, an award recognising teams that demonstrate outstanding team spirit, confidence, and sustained effort both in preparation and on the day.

A huge thank you to Caleb van Wezel, our student coach for Team Aqua, and Sam Furlong, coach of the Brickologists, for the time, effort, and organisation they put into preparing the teams and supporting them throughout the season. Their leadership played a key role in the students’ growth and success.

For a young group (of which most were competing for the very first time) this was an outstanding effort. The students represented our school with perseverance, curiosity, and genuine gracious professionalism. We are incredibly proud of them. 

Well done to both teams! 👏

Nick Rodda

Extended Learning Key Teacher

Secondary Maths/Science Teacher