The name “Da Vinci Decathlon” pays tribute to the enduring legacy of Leonardo da Vinci, celebrated for his profound insights. This competition, held at Knox Grammar School, places a special emphasis on fostering higher-order thinking skills, problem-solving abilities, and creativity.
This year, our Year 8 Da Vinci Decathlon team displayed exceptional talent and dedication. They reached the state finals and represented our state in the National finals in Sydney at the end of term 3. This competition is fiercely competitive, with some schools even offering it as a subject, requiring students to train intensively. Our girls embraced the challenge of competing against gifted and talented students from Knox Grammar, Pymble Ladies’ College, and Perth Modern School.
In the competition, teams of eight students engage in ten diverse disciplines, including engineering, mathematics, code-breaking, art and poetry, science, English, ideation, creative production, cartography, and legacy. Notably, our girls achieved 1st place for Creative Producers and triumphed in the ‘Race around Sydney.’ They also secured 2nd place in Engineering and English, and 3rd place in Ideation and Code Breaking, ultimately landing a well-deserved 4th place overall.
An impressive effort for our girls who have worked hard meeting each week to work on honing their skills in each of the disciplines. Several categories are not taught in schools such as code-breaking and engineering for Year 8, the girls worked as a team to train themselves in these fields thanks to the help of parents who had expertise in some of these fields.
Selection into this elite team is based on high performance across various areas and achievement tests like CAT4. The girls have not only gained substantial knowledge but also plan to mentor our future teams, sharing their expertise and enthusiasm.
During the competition, we stayed in Chatswood and commuted to Knox each day. Our students had the opportunity to bond with like-minded individuals, sharing meals and experiences. Travelling alongside Perth Modern School’s Year 10 team allowed us to collaborate with other highly talented and gifted students, fostering a sense of camaraderie and shared learning.
