As part of our Learning Enrichment Program, the College is participating in the Tournament of Minds (TOM) Challenge for the second year which will be held on 24 – 25 August at La Trobe University.
Tournament of Minds (TOM) is a problem solving program for teams of students from both primary and secondary years. TOM provides students with the opportunity to demonstrate their problem solving skills and talents in an exciting, vibrant and public way. The tournament also aims to enhance time management, enterprise, working as a team, thinking outside the square, utilising technology, working within a competitive environment and promote knowledge and appreciation of self and others. It also provides a platform for excellence and equips participants with twenty-first century skills and strategies.
Students are required to solve demanding, open-ended challenges from one of the following disciplines:
The Arts, STEM, Language Literature, Social Sciences.
Teams are required to work together on a Long Term Challenge for six weeks without assistance from teachers, parents or peers. They are encouraged to explore possibilities and experiment with ideas as they endeavour to produce their best possible solution. They develop a creative and original way to communicate this solution to others, working within predefined parameters such as limited materials, complex challenge criteria and the deadline of Tournament Day.
The teams must also participate in an unseen Spontaneous Challenge on Tournament Day. This challenge requires rapid interchange of ideas, the ability to think creatively and well developed group cooperation skills.
TOM is a celebration of the talents and capabilities of students. Thousands of parents, educators, and interested public flock annually to watch and enjoy the exhilarating spectacle of the presentations and the ingenious solutions created by motivated students who have accepted the Tournament challenge.
We are extending the program to Year 3 & 4 this year and eventually will be selecting students from Years 3 – 8 (groups of 7 between 2 year levels) to participate in the competition. Students who would like to participate are invited to express their interest to their homegroup teacher in the first week of Term 2.
Best wishes!