EPro8 Success for our Senior Students
On Wednesday 14 October, St Heliers Hall welcomed schools from the Eastern Bays to the EPro8 competition. EPro8 is an engineering competition where students build dynamic, everyday objects using a selection of aluminium rods, nuts and bolts, and a variety of electronic materials.
St Heliers had two teams entered: a Year 7 team (Calvin, Toby, Ruby and Chelsea) and a Year 8 team (Georgia, Chloe, Emma and Gemma). Competing against 10 other schools, the excitement was palpable as Engineer Kelvin gave the students their first instructions and started the competition.
Both teams chose different builds to complete. The Year 8 team, EPro4, built a radio-controlled Mario Kart car fitted with a laser sensor and a conveyor belt to dispose of banana skins. The skins then set off a laser sensor that stopped the vehicle. The Year 7 team, the Mechanical Monsters, built a radio-controlled platform fitted with a fan. It had to manoeuvre a floating balloon through a series of obstacles. If this sounds extremely complicated, you are not alone. The sheer amount of wires and cables that needed to be connected and organised would give the most experienced sparky heart palpitations.
As the three-hour competition came to a close, both teams were in the top four. When the final points were awarded, EPro4 took a fantastic fourth place, while the Year 7 Mechanical Monsters came third, solidifying their place in the Auckland champs competition! This is a huge accomplishment for both teams. The builds were staggeringly complicated this year, and the students made St Heliers School proud on the engineering stage.
Supported by Ben Christie and Kerry Herbert.
