Extension Program
Tournament of Minds (TOM) - State Final Report
It has been a wonderful end to a very busy year with Tournament of Minds.
On Sunday 9 September, our College for the first time had one team compete at the Victorian State Championships at La Trobe University in Bundoora. Our Secondary Social Science team ‘Mind Invaders’ consisting of Noah B, Sofia C, Sanna D, Katie G, Sophie H, Malinsa H and Maryam T were awarded Honours which was very exciting.
Our team was up against regional winners from around the State. Teams were given three hours to ‘dissect’ a long-term challenge and construct a scenario to fulfill the requirements. They had to rely on their own interpretation of the challenge, exploring possibilities and experimenting with ideas in their endeavour to produce their best possible solution.
The school is very proud of the team’s achievement in receiving Honours at both Regional and State Finals. They performed superbly under pressure in both a long-term and spontaneous challenge presenting their solutions to a panel of judges. The teams are to be congratulated for not only their performances, but also for all the hard work they put in prior to the competition. They trained at lunchtimes and after school and are to be commended on their dedication, creativity and team work. Special thanks must also go to their teachers for allowing them time to work on the challenge and to their parents for supporting them at home and on the day of the tournament.
Here are two accounts of the students’ TOM journey:
After competing in the Regional Finals and placing Honours, we received the opportunity to compete in the Victorian State Finals.
On Sunday 9 September, Aitken Team 1 arrived at La Trobe University with a very positive attitude, eager to compete in the Tournament of Minds Victorian State Finals. Once in the challenge room, the challenge at hand was that the team must create a solution to the problem; ‘Another Brick in the Wall’. The challenge stated that we must decide on and create a storyline about two opposing leaders that must put aside their differences in order to lead effectively. We had exactly 3 hours to think of an idea, create a storyline, write a script and rehearse. It seemed close to impossible. How could we possibly do 6 weeks of work in 3 short hours? Eventually, once it was all over, we sat in the lecture room to await our turn to perform our act, as the other teams did. After a challenging day, we made our way over to the Grand Union Hall, where we were entertained by Australian writer, actor, radio host, television producer and comedian, Brian Nankervis.
When the ceremony commenced and the Social Science discipline was being introduced, adrenaline was running through all our bodies. Although we did not receive first place, which included a trip to Darwin to compete in the International Finals, we got Honours (equivalent to second place) which we were beyond grateful to receive. Throughout this experience, our team learnt a lot about teamwork, cooperation and we have gained a lot of creative knowledge during the process. Tournament of Minds, is not only recommended to people with a logical and creative mind, but even to drama students who like to perform.
Sofia C - Year 8
On Sunday 26 September 2018, my team went to La Trobe University to compete in the Regional Finals. We got a high scoring Honours so went on to State Finals which were again held at La Trobe University. At State Finals, we were given the long-term challenge on location. We had only 3 hours to prepare our solution. Alongside the long-term challenge, we also had to complete a Spontaneous challenge. At State Finals, we got Honours again! We are very proud for making it this far and I would also like to thank Mrs Di Martino for helping us with situations and for always supporting us. We had a great experience and learnt lots of skills. Maryam T - Year 8
Mrs Mary Ann Di Martino
Head of Faculty - Extension Programs