2017 School Magazine

INTERNATIONAL YOUNG PHYSICISTS’ TOURNAMENT (IYPT)

During the Winter holidays, I — along with Daniel Campbell, Thejan Elankayer, and Liam Harris from All Saints Anglican School and Shaylah-Ryan Sherriff from South Coast Baptist College — represented Australia in the International Young Physicists’ Tournament 2017. This year, the competition was held at the National University of Singapore. In the lead up to the tournament, the five of us conducted extensive experimental investigations into various physical phenomena, including the dynamics behind metronomes forming synchronous behaviour, the accuracy and response time of a hygrometer constructed from human hair and the degree to which air density can be quantified using a Schlieren setup. We subsequently debated our findings in competition rounds, or ‘physics fights’, with representatives from the other thirty countries involved. Throughout the two weeks of competition, we challenged ourselves, developed a strong sense of cohesion as a team and extended our physics knowledge, all while meeting young physicists from across the globe. By the end of the competition, we placed eighteenth on the ladder while Team Singapore won the tournament for the fifth year in a row. I would like to sincerely thank Ms Bernard and Mr Allinson for their support and encouragement, and for accompanying me on this incredible journey. XUAN-NGHI PHAM (12O)

DA VINCI DECATHLON

This challenging competition provided us with key skills that apply to all aspects of life including time management, focus, communication and, most importantly, teamwork. It challenged our minds by providing complex problems to solve, covering areas that we were not exposed to in the classroom, especially code breaking. We will definitely continue to use the skills we have gained in the future. Focusing on Leonardo da Vinci’s passion for learning and the pursuit of knowledge, the competition places emphasis on creativity and problem solving, combined with higher order thinking skills. We embraced the challenges presented to us and found the day to be highly rewarding. YEAR 10 DA VINCI DECATHLON TEAM

The da Vinci Decathlon is an academic competition which challenges multiple schools from across Queensland in ten disciplines: engineering; mathematics; code breaking; art and poetry; science; english; ideology; creative producers; cartography; and general knowledge. Brisbane Girls Grammar School entered three teams of eight students from Years 8 to 10. The competition was held over one day at AB Paterson College, where the team was self-divided into smaller groups to complete a variety of papers and practical tasks over three sessions. The majority of our team have worked closely together for the past three years and we have learnt to embrace each other’s strengths to perform to the best of our ability. This year, the Girls Grammar teams performed admirably with the Year 10 team placing second overall first place in code breaking and third place in science, engineering and creative producers. Year 9 placed second in code breaking and third in english.

112 | CO-CURRICULUM | BRISBANE GIRLS GRAMMAR SCHOOL 2017