Generally the first thing students ask when entering the ICT room is "Can we play Minecraft?"

My answer is generally no, as this is a rabbit hole I'm sure many parents have found themselves down, however, student enthusiasm should be embraced so I have established a couple of Minecraft groups.

We have just formed our first Esports team, but more about that another time.  Every Thursday lunchtime a group of students come in to participate in a Minecraft build challenge. Twice a term a challenge is put out, and students register interest via a Google Form. As we have had up to 200 students show interest in a single challenge, names are randomised and 26 students selected. They then have 5 weeks to complete the challenge, either alone or as part of a group. Past challenges have been Carnivals, Olympics, Dream Home and Build a Boat.

The room is always a buzz of happy excitement as they build, and the creativity and flow of ideas is inspiring. At the end of the 5 weeks students have the opportunity to video a walkthrough of their world, which is shared with the school through our Daily Notices.  Students are able to vote for their (unnamed) favourite build. Some images from our most recent "Build a Boat” Challenge can be seen below. 

If your child is feeling disappointed they haven't been selected for a challenge yet, reassure them there are still several opportunities coming up. We try to avoid students being selected for more than one challenge so their chances increase as the year goes on!