Forward January 2019 | Page 33

PR E PA R ATORY S C HO OL Prep School creative thinkers A group of students from Years 4–6, took the challenge and competed in the Opti-MINDS Creative Thinking Competition which was held at Curtin University on Saturday 25th August, 2018. Fifteen enthusiastic students and four slightly crazy staff members, comprising of Miss Fiona Marsh, Mr Clark Wight, Mr Jamie Fagan and Mrs Carol Ray, were chosen to represent the School. Both teams performed a ten-minute presentation at Curtin University, demonstrating their ability to write a script, GGS Team 1 Focus: Language and Literature – – – – – – – Max Cugley Omal Deeyagaha Waduge Riley Wight Minudi Umaya Karunawardena Dhinuk Gonapinuwala Levi Rosetto Avani De Santis GGS Team 2 Focus: Science and Engineering – – – – – – – – Blair Parnell Daniel Nelson William Stoker Georgia Crossen Michael Minchin Joshua Heffernan Albert McNamara Patrick Gannon answer questions posed in a creative way, entertain the audience and to work collaboratively as a team. The GGS performances were of a very high standard, with staff and parents feeling very proud of all involved. Congratulations to GGS Team 2 who were awarded Honours and presented with medals for their long term and spontaneous solutions. friends. We were all proud of ourselves and each other when we performed and the hard work paid off when we received honours for our presentation. Michael Minchin (Yr 4): I loved everything, but my favourite part was going to Curtin University and just going through the excitement of the long term challenge. Joshua Heffernan (Yr 4): My favourite thing about Opti-MINDS was finding out that I could be a mad scientist in our team’s script and being allowed to go psycho! Georgia Crossen (Yr 4): My favourite thing about Opti-MINDS was meeting new people, not only from our team, but from the other team as well. I also made friends with the teachers. Along the way Mr Fagan became less like a teacher and more like a mentor. Blair Parnell (Yr 6): I liked being part of a team, especially working with people I didn’t know. We made strong bonds and by the end of the competition we were all great Max Cugley (Yr 6): My favourite thing about Opti-MINDS was being able to just let my creativity flow out of me and not having to hold it back. Thoughts from participants Max Cugley In the last edition of the Forward we profiled three of the 2018 Preparatory School leaders. In this edition we profile Head Boy Max Cugley. What are the most important attributes to being a leader? I think in order to be a good and effective leader you have to be kind and respectful to everything and everyone. You can’t become a leader if you’re not nice to people. I also think it is important to be a good decision maker, and to listen to everyone’s opinions. What have you enjoyed most about being a leader this year? The thing I have enjoyed the most about being a leader are the opportunities. I have valued being able to work more with Mr Budler and Mr Wight, and also opportunities like the Halogen Leadership Day, which was inspiring and motivating. I have actually enjoyed having duties at recess and lunch, because it means I get to know lots of people across the school and different year groups. What advice would you give anyone else considering a leadership role? Take nothing for granted, and always try your best in everything you do. Throw yourself into every opportunity and listen and take on board the opinions of others but in the end make the best decisions you can. 33