This year, a Melbourne Grammar School Da Vinci Decathlon team was the first Victorian team to win the Year 8 national championship. Here, one of the participants, Daivik Bose reflects on his experience.
The legend Leonardo Da Vinci was a renowned Italian polymath. He was centuries ahead of his time devising experiments and creations previously believed to be impossible, especially in terms of the detail in which he completed them.
The Da Vinci Decathlon is a competition which tests participants in Da Vinci’s finest abilities – higher order thinking, problem solving and creativity – through a series of tasks across 10 disciplines. Teams of eight students complete assessments in Engineering, Mathematics, Code Breaking, Art and Poetry, Science, English, Ideation, Creative Producers, Cartography and Legacy.
Our journey to the national finals in Sydney was not of the geographical nature, but of the mind. We were transported back to the time of Da Vinci, pondering the creations of his time and how we would be tested about them. We evaluated our present from creative and enlightening points of view. We thought to the future in a multitude of fields and timelines. Most of all, we reflected on ourselves, our abilities, values and, of course, our connections.
During the competition, we were tested in every possible way, in our existing knowledge, the ability to apply our understanding, and the skill of creatively finding ways to express ourselves and our opinions. No matter how much we believed we knew, there was always more.
The most invigorating part of the experience was the ability to learn away from the traditional classroom.
We rediscovered the meaning of a ‘team’ where we were working together in a new academic environment – a unique experience for us all. Our relationships strengthened, spending night and day together, mixed with adrenaline, excitement and fatigue. In the end, it was not simply an academic competition, but an assessment of our holistic development and we were struck with a resounding sense of appreciation of the opportunity we had received.
As we soared away from Sydney and towards home, the power of knowledge and creativity really struck me. The foundation of our society is education in all forms. The environment that we were exposed to broke the stereotypical barriers of education and schooling allowing us to revel in our success with excitement for the future.
Our achievement of being the first Victorian Year 8 team to win first place at the National Da Vinci Decathlon will be one to remember for a lifetime.
