PR E PA R ATORY S C HO OL
Opti-MINDS
There was much anticipation regarding
Opti-MINDS this year as we reached the
State Finals in 2014. This is an annual
event which is focussed on extending
and challenging those students who are
very able. It is designed to give students
the opportunity to participate in creative
activities involving stimulating open-ended
challenges, which demand experimentation
and reward divergent thinking.
We started planning prior to the OptiMINDS challenges being released. This was
a preparation time to hone the students’
problem solving and creative thinking skills.
The challenges varied greatly and were
based around the core academic areas of
English and Mathematics.
The Opti-MINDS teams comprised of these
Year 4, 5 and 6 students: Tristan KnoopBender, Nandini Sharma, Jonathan Rose,
Parker McMahon, Angus Wilson, Earl
Wijayananda, Rizvan Nair, Caitlin Stevens,
Tanaka Mari, Caleb Jowett Blinman, Ryder
Attwood-Faudet, Lloyd Carver-Kriege, Jacob
Armstrong and Orlando DeSantis
At the beginning of Term 3 the challenges
were released by the Opti-MINDS directors
and the teams were ready to take up the
challenge! Firstly they needed to select a
discipline, their choices were:
• Language Literature
• Science Engineering
• Social Sciences
The teams made their choices; one was
going to take up the Social Sciences long
term challenge and the other the Language
Literature challenge. Now it was time to
get to work and solve the problem. The
teams spent considerable time working on
the challenge and addressing the criteria set
ready for competition day.
received immediate and extremely positive
feedback from the judges.
The Opti-Day was set for Saturday 29
August at Curtin University’s Bentley
campus. The Opti-MINDS Day was
comprised of two challenge areas – the
long term challenge, which the students
had prepared for throughout Term 3, and
the spontaneous challenge, which was a
previously unseen ‘on the spot’ challenge.
The Opti-MINDS teams both made it to
the State Finals again in 2015, which was
our ultimate goal! Now it was time to
put in a huge effort. Mrs Ray and I spent
considerable time practicing with and
preparing these two teams. The State Final
went very well and we were very proud
of our teams. Both teams were only just
beaten by exceptional teams!
The spontaneous challenges went very
well, which created great buoyancy for
the upcoming long term challenge. The
students were excited about presenting their
long term challenge to the judges. The long
term challenge went extremely well and was
well supported by the parents and family
members who attended. Both teams were
extremely proud of their efforts and they
Grandparents’ Day
Grandparents’ Day this year was more exciting than usual, with many
grandparents seeing the new Preparatory School buildings for the first time.
Over 400 grandparents visited the School on Friday 23 October, starting their
day with a special Grandparents’ Day Chapel Service, followed by High Tea,
served in the Dining Hall by mums from the FOPS Committee.
The highlight of the day however, was the visit to the Preparatory School, where
grandparents had their first look at the new buildings and Natureplay area.
We even had reports of some grandparents trying out the new play equipment!
Thank you to everyone involved in coordinating this great day.
We look forward to seeing all of our grandparents again next year!
50
The planning for Opti-MINDS in 2016 has
already commenced. The students, Mrs Ray
and I are very enthusiastic about facilitating
yet another great effort by the students of
Guildford Grammar Preparatory School.
Well done team!
Mr Simon Edgar and Mrs Carol Ray
Team Coordinators, Opti-MINDS