Year 6 da Vinci Decathlon Challenge 2021

Joshua Cronin

Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519) was one of the world’s greatest thinkers and scholars. Da Vinci demonstrated an ability to perceive the interconnected nature of knowledge and embraced learning with a lifelong passion and determination to uncover the unknown. The da Vinci Decathlon is an academic competition that places an emphasis on higher order thinking skills, problem solving and creativity designed to challenge and stimulate the minds of school students.  And that it definitely did on Thursday 6th May 2021.

After 4 weeks of preparation the Wyvern team competed against students from 150 school across disciplines including Engineering, Mathematics, Code Breaking, Art and Poetry, Science, English, Ideation, Creative Producers, Cartography and Legacy.

Back row: Mr Justin Brayley, Callum Lau 6K, Joshua Cronin 6D, Kiril Kukeski-Xipolitas 6K, Anthony Cusumano 6K, Deyan Nikolic 5T
Middle row: Angus Baker Wood 6D, Khai Vu 6P, Fintan Daly 5L, Kyan Pavendranathan 5T, Aidan Ward 5B, Nicholas Softsis 6D
Front row:  Matthew McCrudden 5B, Seth Bogardus 5B, Bryant Diep 5B, Cooper Bell 5O, Hamish Tweeddale 6D

First challenges of the day were science, cartography and ideation.  Josh and Angus took on the challenging science test whilst Nick and Anthony responded to an English paper on different literary devices. Kiril and Callum located different countries on a map and Hamish and Khai creatively solved the ideation puzzles,  and creative producers Josh and Nick successfully produced a short play on changing the events of the past.   After a short break Josh and Angus once again worked together, this time creating a modified spacecraft, whilst Hamish and Anthony used their skills to solve complex math problems. At the same time Nick and Khai produced an impressive artwork and poem involving a test. Code breaking this year proved extensively difficult and Callum and Kiril with the help of the rest of their team, tried to complete the challenge.  At the end of the day after feasting on pizzas the team collaborated to complete the digital legacy quiz.

Lateral thinking is the key to da Vinci success. Just as Olympic decathlon athletes are all-rounders who excel in running, jumping and throwing events, the best da Vinci competitors must be more than good at maths with team strengths required in creativity, scientific understanding, computer expertise and precise construction skills. 

It sounds strange, that a day full of tests and challenges could be so enjoyable, but working with teammates and friends for the benefit of the team and (hopefully) glory for the school was a fun a day.  Collaborating when needed to work out the toughest of challenges and using our strengths to support each other.

Year 5 da Vinci Decathlon Challenge 2021

Seth Bogardus

The da Vinci Decathlon 2021 was a fun and exciting experience. It stretched boys’ minds and challenged them all day. They all have said something, having a general message of a positive experience or a challenge, having over 100 schools there. There were 3 sessions throughout the day, the first composed of English, Science, Cartography, Ideation and Creative Producers. English was composed of many vocabulary questions and a text, which questions were asking to show evidence of foreshadowing, metaphors, etc. Ideation consisted of a question that, if you were the Prime Minister, but only for a day, what you would do. Science were more difficult questions, such as explaining some parts of quantum physics. Cartography mainly consisted of many maps and a list of natural disasters and such, and we had to match it up. However, there were less maps than disasters, so we had to choose wisely. Creative Producers lasted 20 minutes and got 50 marks. We had to come up with a performance about ‘A Second Chance’ asking us that if we could change something in history, what would we change and how would we change it?

Session 2 of the decathlon consisted of Mathematics, Code Breaking, Art and Poetry and Engineering. Mathematics, in our opinion the easiest, we finished 15 minutes early completely sure about 95% of the marks. We were allowed to bring a pocket calculator, and therefore we only needed to know the calculations to make. Code Breaking, the hardest, was extremely hard to get through, and by lunch, we had only finished half. Art and Poetry asked us to draw something and fit the lines of a poem into it, which we did, early. Engineering was hard, with a limited submission time and the fact that we had to construct something of a rocket ship with limited materials.

Session 3 composed purely of legacy, which was a series of questions about Leonardo da Vinci and asking about artworks or people that have or are making an impact. We were sure about 70% of them, and believe we got a good mark. Next was the vibe session, composing of music and quizzes that didn’t count towards our marks. So far we had had great fun, and were ready to end the day.

Overall, the Year 5 team enjoyed our day, and would love to do it again. It was interesting, challenging, and generally fun. This was a strong memory that we will likely carry through our lives,  as a show of teamwork, and how much you can do if you put your mind to it. On that note, I hope that you enjoyed reading this, and I hope you have a good day.

2021 da Vinci Decathlon Summary

Khai Vu

The da Vinci Decathlon contest is by far the most exciting and enjoyable experience of 2021 so far and I doubt anything would beat it! The very few seconds before the competition began, my adrenaline already began rushing from suspense. In the first session I did Ideation, and my teammates did Cartography, English, Science and Creative Producers. Ideation was a serious challenge but finished with only few minutes remaining and the first session was by in a flash. The other tests were also completed except English.

Session 2 was a lot more stressful with our team only completing Engineering and this time it felt as long as a whole day. It was a great relief to end session 2. It was now time for a whole group test on the legacy of Da Vinci (an artist and which created multiple unbelievable inventions) and The Renaissance (a period time where artists and inventors became famous). The day was great but now was the time to relax because the vibe session began. There were multiple engaging riddles which was the perfect way to end the da Vinci Decathlon!