The ESHS students made props for their 10-minute Tournament of the Minds performance. Photo: ESHS.
Esperance Senior High School students (ESHS) are preparing for the Tournament of the Minds (ToM) state finals tomorrow after impressing judges in two disciplines at the regional competition.
Two teams of seven social sciences and seven language literature students had six weeks to develop solutions to town tensions and societal challenges as part of the problem-solving tournament.
On competition day, they were also given a spontaneous challenge to test their creativity and critical thinking skills.
ESHS language literature teacher Miss Docherty said it was an “incredible honour” for the school to be named state finalists in two disciplines.
“It reflects the depth of talent, creativity, and critical thinking that our students demonstrate across a range of subjects,” Miss Docherty said.
“This achievement is something about which the whole school community is proud.
“It reinforces our commitment to developing well-rounded learners who can problem-solve, think innovatively, and work together as a team.”
Students had 10 minutes to present their solutions in a 3×3 metre performance area.
Miss Docherty said students in the language literature challenge were tasked with reimagining a story by Australian author, Shaun Tan.
She said they raised awareness about a societal issue through the journey of a protagonist, Eric, a foreign exchange student visiting his family in Australia.
“The language literature students portrayed Eric as a child of non-verbal Autism, living amongst his family that is ableist and who find it challenging to build a relationship with him,” she said.
“They showed Eric’s journey through song and colours, depicting how he found joy in the simple pleasures in life around him – sometimes a joy not understood by neurotypical people.
“The narrative was sensitively and authentically performed and appreciated by the audience — many of whom responded emotionally to the story of Eric.”
Teamwork, collaboration and critical thinking were key to TOM, according to ESHS social sciences teacher Mrs Gurney.
She said students must reflect on their strengths and weaknesses and view the challenge from all perspectives.
“Successful teams think deeply about possible solutions and spend time and energy developing complex solutions,” Mrs Gurney said.
The social sciences team tackled the town tensions challenge.
Mrs Gurney said the students gathered twice a week for six weeks to prepare their ideas for a new recreational facility.
“They needed to research two potential sites for the facility and identify the social, environmental and logistical advantages and disadvantages of each site, including feedback from community stakeholders,” she said.
“Students must think outside the box about who our community might be — are we aliens on another planet? An ancient civilisation or characters in different fairy tales?
Mrs Gurney said the team consisted of script writers who developed characters and a plot for the performance, researchers who identified possible locations and artists who hand drew designs and made props and costumes.
The teams consisted of students from year 7-10.
The state finals are being held at ECU in Joondalup.
