Students from three South Australian Catholic schools have been awarded among the nation's most outstanding Catholic school science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) students at the STEM MAD National Competition.
Students from Gleeson College, St Aloysius College and Whitefriars Catholic School have taken home top honours at the nation-wide competition now in its second year.
STEM MAD is a celebration of student learning designed to acknowledge and promote STEM learning initiatives that address real-world problems and demonstrate the ethos of Catholic schools, encouraging students to Make A Difference (MAD) in the world by acting for justice and the common good.
A National Online Awards Ceremony was held on August 31 to announce the national winners, that were bought together following Catholic diocesan competitions.
Whitefriars School, Woodville Park was announced as national winners of the STEM in Space Primary major award for their ‘Junk Sorter 2000’.
Two SA Catholic primary schools were among the top three nationally in other primary categories.
St Joseph's School, Payneham was a top-three finalist for the Best Demonstration of Science in Context Primary award for their ‘Bacteria Blockers’ project and St Joseph's School, Kingswood was the top three in the STEM for Habitat Conservation Primary award for their ‘Ocean Oil Filter’.
The secondary awards saw two national winners from SA.
St Aloysius College, Adelaide student Imogen won top national honours in the Best Innovation for Health Award for her Anxiety App project. Imogen was also a top three finalist in both the Communications Award Secondary and the major STEM MAD National Secondary award.
Another St Aloysius College team were among the top three national finalists in the Best Assistive Device award category for their ‘Alzheimer's Assistance App’.
A team of Year 8 students from Gleeson College, Golden Grove won the Change it up ‘Social Entrepreneurship' award with their project called ‘STEM Yarns’ for their service innovation for First Nations children. The students were also finalists for the STEM Curators major award.
St Joseph's School, Clare was also among the top-three secondary national finalists with their ‘Bottle Cap Water Filter’ project in the Best Innovation for Health Secondary and Impactful Data: Saving the world 1 byte at a time Secondary award categories.
A STEM MAD National Showcase was then held on September 6 at the National Catholic Education Conference in Melbourne, hosted by the National Catholic Education Commission, as a national celebration of STEM excellence in Catholic education.
The event bought together 72 of the nation's best Catholic primary and secondary student teams from around the country comprising around 200 students, to showcase their projects to the 1,300 delegates at the conference.
Two CESA STEM MAD finalist schools were chosen to represent SA at the showcase.
Year 6 students Matthew, Ash, Sirat and Arky from St Joseph's School Payneham made the trip to Melbourne to showcase their ‘Bacteria Blockers’ project in the primary category.
St Aloysius College students Imogen, Emily, Tilda and Sophie displayed their ‘Anxiety App’ and ‘Alzheimer's Assistance App’ projects in the secondary category. Imogen was presented with a People’s Choice Award for her innovative Anxiety App.
Organising committee Chair Dr Doug Ashleigh, Catholic Network Australia, said the task of the judges was extremely challenging with schools from 15 dioceses around the country participating in the national competition.
“Each diocese was asked to nominate local finalists for national judging and the standard of work was very high,” he said.
Event coordinator Shelley Waldon, Melbourne Archdiocese Catholic Schools, said the entries tackled issues ranging from local and personal challenges such as disability, wellbeing and the impact of COVID-19, to community and global challenges such as natural disasters, aviation, climate action and species loss.
“The creativity and deep-thinking of our young people, along with the care they have for their fellow citizens and communities, never ceases to amaze me. It gives great hope that the future is in good hands,” she said.
The Catholic education community has gathered for the 2022 National Catholic Education Conference from September 4-7 that saw over 1,400 delegates from across the country come together in Melbourne and online.
Nine representatives from Catholic Education SA were invited to chair or present at the event, shining a national light on some of the strategic and innovative work from our offices and schools that are making a difference in the lives of young people in SA.
