Aspire
Term 4 has been such a busy time for our Aspire students, a number of whom have been involved in multiple competitions which challenge their problem solving and teamwork skills.
Future Problem Solving National Finals
We were thrilled to hear that four of our Future Problem Solving teams this year qualified for the National FPS Finals. This honour is provided only to those students who rank in the top 10% of problem solvers nationally and is a testament to the incredible young minds in the Aspire program. We travelled to Melbourne together and were able to enjoy a few days of sightseeing, including a trip to Adventure Rooms escape rooms, SeaLife, the Science Museum, and Queen Victoria Market. The students also enjoyed walking and catching the tram through the CBD, watching the night lights from the rooftop of our hotel, and getting Starbucks as often as they could!
For the competition, we caught the train out to Carey Baptist Grammar College where the students put their knowledge of the future of autonomous vehicles to the test. By applying a six-step creative problem-solving process, they applied their knowledge to create solutions to complex problems, evaluate those solutions, and turn them into a workable plan of action.
The closing ceremony was full of excitement as we discovered that our Lake Joondalup Baptist College teams had incredible success this year.
Year 8 students Katie, Chloe, Madison, and Lily came 11th nationally out of 320 teams in the middle years division, as well as being ranked first in WA.
Year 11 students Robyn, Sofia, Sean, and Lachlan came 6th nationally in the senior division.
Our Year 10 team, comprised of Abigail, Cara, Tayte, and Chantal, however, blew the competition away and won the entire competition, beating out 240 teams across the country and winning the title for WA for the first time in more than 10 years.
The Year 10 students have now been invited to represent Australia at the Future Problem Solving Australia World Finals at the University of Indiana in June, 2025. We are so proud of all of our teams who proved that LJBC is a school full of amazing young minds!
Game Changer Awards
It was exciting to see 61 students from Years 4-10 take on the challenge of the Game Changer Awards, a competition that encourages young innovators to develop creative solutions to real-world problems determined in the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals. Through their involvement, students gained experience in design thinking, problem-solving, teamwork, and project management, as well as the ability to present their ideas effectively. It was a wonderful day of fun, creativity, and problem-solving as the students tackled a diverse range of issues, showcasing their ingenuity and passion for making a positive impact. The students were judged on their understanding of their chosen problem, the STEM principles they used to develop their solution, and their ability to explain the benefits of their solution to a panel of judges.
Year 8 students Katie, Chloe, Madison, and Lily took home 1st place in the category, 'Best Use of STEM' for their project, TraffikGuard, a jail phone that uses artificial intelligence to record phone calls and detect when prison inmates are discussing human trafficking so that the police can prevent such crimes from occurring.
Year 10 students Linden, Lucas, and Tyler also secured a 1st place win. They took home the prize for the category 'Best Presentation' with their pitch about their project Ocean Aura, a submarine designed to reduce ocean acidification.
Congratulations to all of our students on their hard work and creativity as they solved incredibly challenging social, environmental, and economic challenges!
Ashleigh Cartledge
Acting Head of Secondary Learning Diversity
Aspire Academic Extension Coordinator