On Wednesday, 25 June, a group of 13 students, accompanied by Ms Kennedy, visited the University of Auckland Centre for Brain Research to attend the live final round of the Brain Bee Challenge! The Brain Bee Challenge is a competition designed to encourage Year 11 students to learn more about the brain. Participants spend time studying the content that will be in the Round One and Round Two online exams, which explore important components of the brain and the nervous system.
Students who were in the top 60% of Round One participants were invited to visit the University of Auckland Centre for Brain Research. After sitting the Round Two online quiz, those who were in the Top 10 on the North Island got to participate in the live final round!
Activities throughout the day included tours around the campus, exploring everything from cellular structure to preserved components of the human body to learn more facts about the way we live. We were also very lucky to meet with scientists working on a PhD, who were conducting research to unearth discoveries about the amazing way the brain operates.
Before the live final round, one of our school’s teams qualified for the Teams Quiz Final! Congratulations to Winnie Meng, Roz Gabrielle Rodriguez, Abby Whiteman and Saki Tomimoto for their performance in the competition and representing our school proudly.
After the Teams Quiz, we had the privilege of cheering on our two school champions — Hannah Tegg and Shvein Hewage — who had done extremely well on the Round Two Quiz, placing in the Top Ten and making it to the North Island Final. WGHS was the only school with two of our students competing in the live final, which was super impressive! We were proud to cheer them on as they answered questions and did a terrific job. With Hannah finishing in 2nd place and Shvein finishing in 3rd across all of the North Island, they represented Westlake Girls High School with determination and excellence!
Shoutout to Audrey Malloy, Winnie Meng, Charlotte Smith, Hannah Tegg, Saki Tomimoto, Abby Whiteman, Quinn Dong, Rahma Moussa, Ovee Dimble, Jenny Kwon, Ros Gabrielle Rodriguez and Shvein Hewage for representing our school.
Thank you to Ms Kennedy, who supported us along our learning journey and presented this opportunity to us; and to Meera Mistry (Year 12), for giving up her lunchtimes to tutor us. You have been the greatest help!
by Rahma Moussa (Year 11)