Outstanding Success at STEM MAD National 2022
A desire to make a positive difference in the world has inspired three primary school STEM teams to win major awards at the 2022 STEM MAD National Competition. (6 September 2022)
A desire to make a positive difference in the world has led three primary school STEM teams to win major awards in Primary School Categories at the 2022 STEM MAD National Competition.
STEM MAD is a National competition that encourages students in Catholic Schools around Australia to address real-world problems through the lens of Catholic stewardship, solidarity, common good, citizenship, humanity and wellbeing.
The STEM teams from St Joseph’s Primary School, Laurieton, St Ambrose Catholic Primary School, Pottsville, and St Joseph’s Primary School, Port Macquarie, were selected to represent the Diocese of Lismore at the STEM MAD National Showcase in Melbourne.
St Joseph’s Laurieton team won the School Best Engineered Project and second place in the Best Application of Maths in Context for their Flood Warning System. In 2021 the school was ravaged by flood waters from overflowing drains. The team researched and designed a unique warning system that could alert the school when drain water rises to a concerning level.
St Ambrose Pottsville project ‘Helping Hand’ received the award for Demonstrating Catholic Ethos. The Pottsville team were keen to learn from the devastating Northern NSW floods, listening to the stories of the community's impacted people and designing an innovative App that connects people who need help.
While the Port Macquarie team was awarded the People's Choice Award at the Showcase, recognising the team's passionate research on the notable topic of accessible and fashionable clothing for people with limited mobility.
The STEM teams enjoyed the opportunity to display their projects proudly, explore other school projects and listen to inspirational speakers.
‘I am very happy that I took the opportunity to be part of the STEM MAD team at my school. I liked being able to work as a team and expanding my knowledge,’ said Matilda from St Joseph’s Port Macquarie.
‘I liked telling people about our design and what we have done,’ said Roman from St Joseph’s Laurieton.
‘My favourite thing so far has been the inspiring futurist speech and looking at the other school's projects,’ said Louis from St Ambrose Pottsville.
Congratulations to the STEM teams on their innovative winning projects. You can watch the student presentations below.
- Year 6 students - Louis Beamont, Olive Ostilla, Madeline Morgan, Eve Trimboli
St Ambrose Catholic Primary School, Pottsville
- Helping Hand App - Year 6 students - Jack Wilson, Roman Riethmuller, Adam Tunhavasana
St Joseph's Primary, Laurieton.
- Flood Warning System - Year 6 students - Matilda Coleman, Jackson Coleman, Gene Smith, Amelie Obeid
St Joseph's Primary School, Port Macquarie
- Adaptive Designs
