Meriden’s Year 9 da Vinci Decathlon team has claimed second place in the National da Vinci Decathlon. The team qualified for the national event after placing first and becoming the NSW State Champions in their division.
The da Vinci Decathlon is a rigorous academic competition designed to challenge and stimulate the minds of high potential students in Years 7 to 11. Students compete in teams of eight to complete complex challenges in eight disciplines: Art and Poetry, Creative Producers, Code Breaking, Cartography, Engineering, English, Ideation, Legacy, Mathematics and Science.
The Year 9 team faced an even greater challenge at the national event, competing against other teams that also topped their respective States.
The girls placed first in English, and second in Cartography, Ideation and Codebreaking.
After a hard-fought competition, the girls ended up placing second overall. This an outstanding result given the level of the other teams from all around Australia.
Outstanding results at the State da Vinci Decathlon
Meriden performed outstandingly well at the NSW State da Vinci Decathlon this year. In addition to the Year 9 team becoming State Champions in their division, all other teams performed exceptionally well and earned a top 15 overall placing.
Notable performances include: the Year 8 team achieving first in Ideation; the Year 9 team achieving first in Art and Poetry, Science and Legacy, and second in Ideation and third in Cartography; the Year 10 team earning first in Art and Poetry, and Cartography, and third in Engineering.
Meriden’s 2024 Da Vinci Decathlon teams consisted of the following students:
Year 7 team, 8th overall: Angel Chen, Jialu (Zoe) Gao, Yuri Han, Mila Ke, Elvia Lin, Mia Liu, Vicky Qian, Maya Vojvodic, Clare Yang (Reserve), Cynthia Yu (Reserve).
Year 8 team, 4th overall: Simrita Baddam, Alice Feng, Danielle Ho, Danielle Kim, Emma Rose Koeswandy, Serena Li, Yumi Takusagawa, Rochelle Tao, Chloe Li (Reserve), Mandy Shi (Reserve).
Year 9 team, 1st overall: Lisa Chen, Eva Gao, Yiru Li, Vivian Liao, Olivia Kim, Amelia Von, Jasmine Yang, Chloe Zhou, Cindy Shen (Reserve), Miriam Shin (Reserve).
Year 10 team, 5th overall: Amy Chen, Angelin Chen, Michelle Lu, Diya Maninathan, Naomi Riaz, Keira Waked, Corrine Xu, Qianqi (Christina) Zhou, Kaitlyn Blair (Reserve), Anjali Popuri (Reserve).
Year 11 team, 14th overall: Sabrina Cao, Leah Har, Olivia Lee, Sophie Tan, Meredith Xu, Emily Yang, Victoria Yenson, Sophie Yi, Selina Wang (Reserve), Melody Chia (Reserve).