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From:TheBahamasWeekly.com Community
When you find a good formula that works, stick with it, and then improve upon it, and you will achieve success - that's the mantra that led to Anatol Rogers physics students securing their third straight victory in the IBS Build-A-Bridge challenge. The unique competition requires students to combine science with ingenuity to create a bridge out of Popsicle sticks that would hold more load than any other school's entry. Aaron Thompson, Kendal Joseph, Zaria Rahming, Monischa Smith and Philip Darling represented Anatol Rodgers, under the mentorship of teacher Oliver Lynch. The school now boasts of three straight wins in the challenge, which is now in its eighth consecutive year.
The efficiency of Anatol’s bridge was 467.59, a significant edge over the second place winner, Temple Christian Schools' bridge, which showed an efficiency of 376.06. St. Paul's Methodist College in Grand Bahama placed third in this year's competition, with an efficiency of 315.67. "I feel excited because it's the first time I have participated," said Rahming, a tenth-grader at Anatol Rogers. "It is always good to win." Mr. Lynch developed a unit it the curriculum, allowing him to teach bridge building to the students He said students built four bridges before choosing the winning design. He also teaches technical drawing, pre-engineering, and graphical communication at the school.
Anatol Rogers students' bridge withstood 152.2 pounds. Temple Christian students saw their bridge buckle at 119.4 pounds, while St. Paul students' bridge gave in to their weight of 116.8 pounds. It was amazing for spectators to see just how much load each bridge could withstand before buckling, breaking, or snapping. It also gave students a chance to be featured in a positive light for their talents, according to Nick Dean, Principal of Integrated Building Services. “I felt that the negative things were getting all the attention, so we created a completion to shine a light on positive students doing positive things," said Dean. He added that it provides a great outlet to inspire more Bahamian students to become involved in engineering and the applied sciences.
Twenty-two schools took part in the competition. Participation from New Providence included: Anatol Rogers; St. Andrew’s; St. Augustine’s; Queen’s College; Bahamas Academy; St.Anne’s; St’ John’s; Aquinas College; Temple Christian; C.V.Bethel; C.R.Walker; Charles Saunders; C.C.Sweeting High, R.M.Bailey; C.I.Gibson High; Kingsway Academy and Lyford Cay School. Also participating were North Andros High, Grand Bahama Academy, St. Pauls Methodist College, Central Andros High and Sherlin C. Bottle High from Abaco. The competition trend for the past few years led to St. Augustine's College and St. John's College normally ending up in the top three. However, this year both schools did not make the top three.
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