Mind games at academic Olympics

SOME of the most gifted students in the central west put their skills to the test in James Sheahan High School’s annual Olympics on Wednesday.

However, these Olympics had no running tracks or swimming pools, instead the battle took place in the classroom.

“The event is styled on an Olympic decathlon, but instead of activities of an athletic nature all the challenges are designed to test lateral and creative thinking,” event organiser Lynelle Maguire said.

“They competed in events such as code breaking, art and poetry, strategy, forensics, engineering, maths, drama, English, general knowledge and music.”

More than 200 students from 25 central west schools took part.

And despite being challenged, the general consensus among participants was that the event was “lots of fun”.

“It’s really fun because we do so many activities, learn new things and meet new people,” James Sheahan student Rachel McFarland said.

“We’re doing lots of things that are hands on and different to the classroom. Meeting lots of people and testing ourselves is fun too,” classmate Hannah Khalil said.

Mrs Maguire said another huge bonus of the day was that it was run entirely by James Sheahan year 9 and 10 students.

“These students have designed and written the questions as well as organised all aspects of the day to ensure it ran smoothly,” she said.

“That type of thing teaches them great leadership skills, organisational skills and also compassion. It’s a big benefit for them in the future.”

As for competition, Mrs Maguire said the standard was high.

“This type of thing gets gifted and talented students together and provides them with a challenge,” she said.

“They get to share their experiences and continue to learn. 

“There was some very talented students take part.”

The academic Olympics was  a round robin style event. The eventual winner was Orange High School.

luke.schuyler@ruralpress.com