Our Year 11 Future Problem Solving (FPS) team has returned from the World Final competition, having achieved fourth place out of the 72 teams competing internationally.
The team, consisting of Sneha Datla, Kieva Hanlon, Phoebe James, Tilly O’Donnell, and their coach, Head of Junior School Bridget Compton-Moen, traveled to Indiana University in Bloomington to compete in the finals against students from 12 countries. They secured their spot in the World Final by undergoing a rigorous selection process, first competing at the FPS national competition, and then securing a leading position at the nationals held in Auckland.
The team has been training for the World Finals since March, when the topic for the international competition was announced. They have spent months thoroughly researching the topic of Air Quality and developing solutions to address the health and environmental impacts of air pollution. SMC has a long history in FPS and was one of the first schools in New Zealand to adopt this programme. Three highly supportive groups meet once a week across our Senior, Middle, and Junior Schools: a Year 9-12 group, a Year 7-8 team, and girls in Year 5-6. FPS is a challenging programme designed to extend deep thinkers, and all students in Year 7-12 can opt to be part of a team.
