Friday’s MRPS Go-Kart Day was an ode to sustainability! Upcycle. Recycle. Reduce. Re-use. Repair. Refuse. Smaller carbon footprint. The R’s were all there, and power tools and ‘pushing power’ helped with the carbon footprint checklist.
Students collaborated in small groups to design their go-karts with a set of criteria geared around sustainability. Students (and parents, I’m sure) were then sent off to scour the Tip Shop, Wreckers’ Yards, Lions Shop and to rummage through sheds and garages at home (and at grandad’s place) to find all manner of bits of metal and wood and left over house paints….which were somehow magically transformed into magnificent and ultra-creative go-karts by lunchtime on Friday!
A Design Technologies initiative first implemented by Carey Jose over twenty years ago, the day has morphed into a much-anticipated annual school community event! From early in the morning dads and their utes stream in the gates to find that special spot on the oval, clustering around the shade gazebos, before hauling out the work benches and battery-powered power tools. Drills and handsaws seemed the tools of the day, with dads patiently modelling techniques, then handing over the tools to eager sons and daughters to work their magic.
Although mums join the work teams, this year we had an all-girl team of three mums and their three daughters, working just as hard beside their ute and work bench to produce a creative go-kart with another first – paisley wallpaper – which decorated the mainframe of their go-kart instead of paint. The creativity of the team produced a “Wonderland” go-kart with their talisman – the Mad Hatter at his teaparty! Great job, ladies!
Walking around the work sites, three things were very obvious – connection, collaboration and community!! Kids and their parents, parents with other parents, teams working side by side to share shade and suggestions contributed to the positive and very supportive atmosphere of the day. Light-hearted competition spurred teams on and everywhere individuals had their jobs and were doing them. It was a true display of our wider school community demonstrating the positive power of ‘community’!
Enjoy this slideshow from the morning’s construction.
The PARADE slideshow!
And then there was the racing! The afternoon is always well-attended by parents and the rest of the school, as the Year 6 go-kart teams parade their finished go-karts, before propelling them down the racetrack. It was thrills and spills all round as drivers weaved left and right as they raced down the course to cheers from the crowd. In the grand-final, it was like the crowd had a premonition, chanting “Men in Black. Men in Black” as Carey raised the chequered flags for the last time at the start. And then it was on. The final four. And they came in: ‘Men in Black’, followed by ‘Bananas’, Alice in Wonderland and ‘Tradies’. What a wonderful day it was – once again!
Enjoy the images – and the effort every team put into dressing up themselves and their go-karts!
Written, photos and posted by Dawn Veary
Canteen