NSW da Vinci Decathlon – Mystery & Mayhem Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519) was one of the world’s greatest thinkers and scholars. His career spanned an enormous range of disciplines: art, architecture, cartography, poetry, academics, anatomy, mechanical and military engineering, mathematics and astronomy. He demonstrated a superior ability to perceive the interconnected nature of knowledge and embraced learning with a lifelong passion and determination to uncover what was hitherto unknown by his society. His bold and imaginative intellectual legacy is a permanent challenge for the leaders and thinkers of the twenty-first century.

Leonardo da Vinci once wrote: ‘Having wandered some distance among gloomy rocks, I came to the entrance of a great cavern … Two contrary emotions arose in me: fear and desire–fear of the threatening dark cavern, desire to see whether there were any marvellous things in it.’ Like Leonardo da Vinci we are drawn to uncover life’s complex mysteries. When we embrace life’s ambiguities – the mystery and the mayhem – we learn so much more and make new, exciting discoveries. Ironically, some of the greatest discoveries have arisen out of mayhem. The theme for this year’s 2014 NSW da Vinci Decathlon is ‘Mystery and Mayhem’.

Please join me in congratulating the following boys on their preparation and wish them luck for a wonderful day tomorrow. They will be depart at 6.45 am and returning at 4 pm.

Year 6
Adrian Lo, Ben Nguyen, Max Langford, Peter Ponifix, Calum Boland, Nicholas Lohmeyer, Sam Lydon, Jack Williams

Year 5
Kieran Casey, Christopher Mina, Addison Eastway, Owen Read, Jaxon Jervis, Tom Alscher, Charlie Papps, Tom Hirst

The Decathlon is an academic interschool gala day run in the spirit of an Olympic Decathlon with events of an academic nature. Students will compete in the following disciplines:

 Mathematics and Chess – emphasis on problem solving, number patterns and logic puzzles

 English – spelling, word origins, definitions, textual analysis and writing tasks

 Science – students engage with higher level scientific concepts to test their ability to apply them

 Code Breaking – students will decipher complex and mysterious codes

 Engineering Challenge – a design task that tests problem solving skills, creativity and ingenuity

 Philosophy – dealing with logic, observations and evidence

 Creative Producers – emphasis on creating under pressure a 60-second dramatic performance

 Art and Poetry – the team will develop a poem interconnected with a work of art based on the theme of mystery and mayhem

 Cartography – students will decipher maps and apply the principles of map-making to represent spatial information in an imaginative way

 General Knowledge – current affairs, entertainment, the Renaissance, sport and trivia

Richard Baker
Deputy Headmaster Years 4-6