The Pārāwai School hall was filled with bright minds on April 9 and 10 , as the school played host to two competition rounds of the annual EPro8 Challenge.
Students from a number of schools across the Thames Valley participated in the Thames heats, with year 7-8 students competing on April 9, and year 5-6 students taking their turns on April 10.
Around 35,000 students across New Zealand compete in the science and engineering competition each year, testing their problem-solving skills in a number of engineering-based challenges.
This year, students were tasked with building working electronic models of things like motorised barrier arms, a foosball table with electronic scoreboard, and shopping trolleys with automatic turning. Each four-person team was provided with a wide array of electronic and construction equipment, basic tools like tape measures and screwdrivers, and a booklet of instructions.
The participating teams at the two sessions were from Hikuai School, Matatoki School, Moanataiari Kura, Ngatea School, Pārāwai School, Pūriri School, St Joseph Catholic School Waihī, Tairua School, Waihī East School, and Waitakaruru School.
Tairua School took out the year 5-6 heat, with second place going to Moanataiari Kura and third to Matatoki School. For the year 7-8 teams, the first and third place prizes went to teams from Pārāwai School, while second place was won by Ngatea School.
The top-placing teams will go on to compete in the Waikato regional semi-finals.
