International success for team D

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JULIA WADE

Last year an in-depth project earned five dynamic local schoolchildren first place in a nationwide competition, and in 2020 the same team have won big again, taking out a bronze on the global stage.

Following their national Future Problem Solving Competition (FPSC) win, former Year 8 Mangawhai Beach School students Ruby Judson, Sophie Lambert, Michael Lynch, Jack Brooks and Tatiana Chan-Chui aka ‘Team Diversity’, and their project based on diversity and social connection, were awarded third place in the ‘Human Services, Community Problem Solving’ division at the recent international FPSC finals.

The Mangawhai team were part of a Kiwi contingent of school groups from around the country who had varying levels of success at the internationals.

Receiving the exciting news from mum Shelley while at school, Sophie says it was ‘kind of crazy’.

“I think I screamed a little… my friends went ‘what, what?’ it was so cool.”

Attracting 2500 champions from 13 different countries, Team D were supposed to travel to Boston early June to compete against 18 other middle-syndicate teams from around the world. However due to Covid-19 restrictions, the 12 and 13 year olds had to submit their ideas online instead.

“Was definitely disappointing,” she says. “At first I was alright because I was expecting it not to happen, but then as the day when we would’ve be leaving got closer, and I saw ‘Shelley and Sophie flying to Boston’ on the family calendar, I was like, ‘dang it’.”

However presenting their project ideas via Zoom did have advantages she says.

“The judges emailed us the questions beforehand so we could talk about and prepare our answers which was different to the nationals,” she says. “We had our display behind us including our strength cards… we also could go online to check out the other entry boards from around the world, they were so cool.”

Coached by former MBS teacher Cate Campbell, and mentor and former FPSC competitor Brooklyn Wilson, the team had been researching their topic ‘How do we connect people in Mangawhai so that we break stereotypes in our community and celebrate diversity?' throughout 2019, and presented their findings and ideas for change at two public meetings.

The ambitious young teens who are now in Year 9 at various colleges, have also created the website ‘Unite in Strength’, designed to highlight divisions and prejudices, as well as offer support to young people with their original ‘Strength Cards’, which they hope will help create ‘empathic, curious conversations in real life’.

Overall, their ongoing goal is fitting with the recent worldwide events, to combat prejudice and strengthen people’s connections, and to become more resilient and kinder, ‘to help us to see, hear and listen to each other deeply’.

Although now separated at different schools, Team D are still keen to keep the project evolving.

“We definitely want to keep working on it… we talk online often and are working on ‘what’s next’… we have a lot of money that we fundraised for the international trip which we will be using for the project, and Ruby has done such beautiful artwork on the strength cards – be a shame to just chuck it all away,” Sophie says. “This is not the end, the project is more than just a competition now.”

n Want to learn more? Visit Team Diversity’s website cmpsteamdiversity.wixsite.com/mysite-1

 

National winners gone international, Team Diversity aka (from left) Ruby Judson, Tatiana Chan-Chui, Sophie Lambert, Michael Lynch and Jack Brooks. Despite their win, the team will continue to encourage kindness and connections to others. PHOTO/SUPPLIED

 

“I think I screamed a little… it was so cool.”

Sophie Lambert

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