2023 Northpower EPro8 challenge wows
Kamo Intermediate and St Francis Xavier Catholic School have been crowned champions of the 2023 Northpower EPro8 Challenge competition. In closely fought finals, Kamo Intermediate won the Year 7-8 title while St Francis took out the Year 5-6 contest.
Both teams gained the most points by completing challenges in their respective competitions held conjointly on Tuesday evening at Whangarei Boys’ High School.
The challenges included building a pendulum clock, a car wash, a rat wheel to generate electricity, and a lightning detector.
Teamwork, excitement and drive
Around 70 teachers and parents watched the finals and were treated to a great contest after 64 teams from 22 schools had previously competed in the heats and semi-finals.
Northpower Community Outreach Facilitator Arriane Christie was impressed with the calibre of the finalists.
“All of the teams displayed great teamwork, excitement and drive and it was great to see young people enjoying themselves while competing and learning,” she says.
“Northpower can see that sponsoring this event provides a real benefit to students and schools. It gives students a wonderful opportunity to get involved with, and learn about science, technology, engineering, and maths, but in a practical way. I want to congratulate all the students that participated in the EPro8 Challenge, from the school’s internal events to the grand finals, and especially the finalists. It is a huge achievement that they can all can be proud of.”
The runners up in the finals were Arapohue School and Whangarei Heads School who were joint second in the Year 7-8 while in the Year 5-6 final, One Tree Point School was second with St Francis Xavier Catholic School in third.
It was also the first time that a secondary inter-school competition has been run in Northland with Year 9-10s and Year 11-13s competing on Wednesday, with Whangārei Boys’ High School taking out both competitions.