Here we celebrate student achievement and showcase activities our students are involved in around college.

TANE HAINES AND THE CENTRAL OTAGO REGIONAL ORCHESTRA

MAC Year 12 music student, Tane Haines, has been rehearsing with the Central Otago Regional Orchestra over the last couple of months and will be performing in two concerts this weekend on the trombone:  Roxburgh Entertainment Centre 7:30pm Saturday 29 April and the Lake Wānaka Centre 2:30pm on Sunday 30 April. School students are welcome to attend for free (tickets are $20/adults).

EPro8 CHALLENGE

On 26 April, 13 students of Mount Aspiring College took part in the EPro8 Challenge. EPro8 stands for Engineering, Problem Solve and Innovate and is an inter-school science and engineering competition. Founder and organiser Kelvin Thiele recently moved to Wānaka and was very keen to run his nationally well known EPro8 Challenge locally here in Central Otago for the first time. It was hosted by Wānaka Primary School and attracted around 120 students from 11 different primary and secondary schools in the area. 

Teams of 4 students had to choose from 4 different challenges. The selected challenge had to be solved with the help of a comprehensive selection of resources and electronic devices. Each challenge had several steps which all gave the team points when achieved. They had two-and-a- half hours to complete one or more of the challenges. 

MAC Team 1 members Ruby Swamy (Y7), Chloe Chisholm (Y7), Henry Coad (Y7) and Oscar Searle (Y8) started in the afternoon and achieved impressive 230 points in a great display of collaboration, communication and problem solving. The hard work paid out as they became second and qualified for the finale on Thursday. Well done, Team 1!

MAC Team 2 with Mackenzie Smith (Y8), Blake Cotton-Everitt (Y8), Lily Brown (Y8), Mack Hay (Y8) and MAC Team 3 with Oliver Murphy (Y8), Duke MacLachlan (Y7), Olivia Smith (Y8) and Neiko Pratt (Y8) had their turn in the evening. Both teams also showed determination, perseverance and fantastic team work. MAC Team 3 finished in 5th place and got 150 points for their car wash creation. MAC Team 2 reached 170 points after the regular time and had to go in a tie break with two other teams to decide a winner. In just 5 minutes they had to build a free standing structure as tall as possible. Calmly and confidently they managed to build a strong foundation and a two meter high tower which was enough to become second in this event and also qualify for the final. 

Well done everyone, we could really see some future engineers, scientists, architects and inventors in the making during this event. We will report next week on the outcome of the finale.

SHOWQUEST 2023

Showquest is Aotearoa’s biggest performing arts competition for schools. This event challenges students to create a performance centred around a theme that combines Art, Music, Dance, Drama, Culture and Technology. This year's performance will be in Invercargill on Friday 19 May.

SCHOOL CLUBS

Magic The Gathering Club, Friday lunchtimes, Soc Sci 4 - between the playground and the field. Bring your best commander decks!