This week, the SMC Future Problem Solving (FPS) Internationals squad is competing at the Future Problem Solving International Competition at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, USA. The squad is made up of seven Year 10 and 11 students, four of whom are the current Middle Division New Zealand champions – Trelise McEwan, Middle Division Individual Champion, and Zara Clark, Mille Edwards and Holly Sawyer as Middle Division Team Champions, having won at the New Zealand FPS Nationals late last year.
The team is further bolstered by the 2021 Junior Division champions, Year 10 students Sneha Datla, Phoebe James and Tilly O’Donnell. Accompanied by their coach and Head of Junior School, Bridget Compton-Moen, the girls are excited to represent New Zealand at this prestigious event, alongside teams from all over the world.
FPS has a long and successful history at St Margaret’s College and currently we have girls from Year 5-11 taking part in this extremely challenging programme. FPS is a critical thinking competition which engages competitors in a deep investigation into a topic. The topic for the 2023 International Championships is Currency so the Internationals Squad has been learning all about cryptocurrencies, non-fungible tokens and global currencies. They have been working hard to prepare, meeting frequently to hone their critical thinking skills and researching what the future of currency might look like.
The team began their trip in Boston where they have been taking in some of the sights in this historical city, including Harvard University. They are now travelling to UMass where they will compete against more than 70 teams in their division.
