Students at St Joseph's School in Northam have put their skills to the test at the Synergy Schools Solar Challenge for the third year, traveling each year to race their engineered solar car against other schools in Perth's eastern suburbs.
The year 6 and year 8 team have been working in class all term, learning about solar power and optimising their standardised car kit to be the fastest on the day.
The program,about getting students engaged in STEM subjects by giving them a hands-on activity with a competitive edge, has grown to see nearly 6,000 students in WA taking part.
The St Joseph's students headed to Mazenod College on Tuesday in a bid to represent the region in the state grand final at Optus Stadium in April.
St Joseph's curriculum coordinator Mark Gargano said the school was happy to be involved and travelling each year to compete in Perth.
"The program is a fantastic way to get students engaged in STEM because it gives them a real-world application to work on with a specific end goal in place," he said.
"This has been backed up with excellent learning support materials.
"St Joseph's School has a Year 6 team and a Year 8 team and they have been working very hard for over a month after school and several lunch times and even had opportunities for the primary students with their teacher Renee Marasco to work alongside the secondary team.
"This has demonstrated the collaborative nature of science research and development and has worked very well and putting enabling the students to problem-solve skills to design and engineer the fastest solar car."
Year 8 student Ashton Stewart said he likes the challenge for the learning experience.
"I have done the challenge for three years and I have learnt a lot about how solar power works and how it is beneficial," he said.
Fellow student Fred Ochtman said it is his second year competing.
"I have enjoyed the lead up to the 2019 challenge with all the practice sessions," he said.
"I enjoy it a lot because of all the experiences I gain and all the fun that I have."
Teammate Adrian Gargano from Year 8 said the most important part of the competition is teamwork.
"The three years of practice I have had in the Synergy Schools Solar Challenge has not only been helpful for me and also our team to develop skills, improve our design techniques and working together, but it has also been helpful for learning how solar power is beneficial."
The 2019 Challenge includes four regional events in Bunbury, Geraldton, Kalgoorlie and Collie.
Synergy will share a $10,000 prize pool of science equipment across the winning regional Year 6 and 8 teams, and the winning Perth Year 6 and 8 teams.
Synergy chief executive officer Jason Waters said the challenge was a great way for students to learn about the benefits of solar and renewable energy.
"Synergy is thrilled to partner with STAWA for a third year to promote innovation and collaboration amongst the students, two of Synergy's corporate values," Mr Waters said.
"The Synergy Schools Solar Challenge is an excellent way to motivate students in STEM subjects and teaches them basic engineering principles in a fun and interactive way."
The grand final will be held on Tuesday, 9 April 2018 at Optus Stadium.
