15 November 2007
Media Advisory

Transpower Neighbourhood Engineers Awards Merit Winner 2007 – Clevedon School, Water Polo Goals

Clevedon Primary was announced a Merit Prize winner in the 2007 round of the Transpower Neighbourhood Engineers Awards.

Clevedon Primary along with other merit prizes winning schools, Green Bay, Bayswater and Browns Bay will each receive $500.00 for their efforts.

The annual Transpower Neighbourhood Engineers Awards, an Institution of Professional Engineers New Zealand (IPENZ) initiative, recognises the best and most innovative collaboration between students, teachers and volunteer engineers. The aim of the awards is to create a greater awareness of the engineering profession and encourage innovative thinking in the areas of engineering and technology.

Transpower and IPENZ will present Clevedon School with their prize at the school at 9 am on Friday 30 November 2007. Participation certificates will also be presented to Year 7 and 8 students who submitted another entry for the competition – the Sandpit project.

The aim of Clevedon School’s project was to design and build water polo goals which would work in the school pool. The school previously used traffic cones which limited play as they did not allow for the referee to call ‘high no-goals’.

The students looked at: the size and materials that would be required to create goals which fitted, floated, were durable and easy to maintain. Ideas were drawn on isometric paper and materials were considered – sustainability, product lifecycle, longevity, future upgrades and cost. Models and prototypes were built and tested before building the life sized goals.

Sean Milne, an engineer from New Zealand Steel, helped Clevedon School develop their project. Mr Milne said that in his first visit to the class he described what his job entailed at New Zealand Steel.

“The excitement of the kids as I described the processes by which we make steel was refreshing and rewarding. It was very satisfying watching the kids ‘get it’ as we worked through a couple of examples”.

Clevedon School Deputy Principal Sue Davis said her students looked forward to their classes with Mr Milne.

“It was fantastic for the students to work with a professional, giving them a true perspective on the design process in a genuine context.”

Miss Davis said live classes with an engineer left a positive impression on students.

“Many younger students commented that they hoped they could ‘do that when they were big kids’.”

Papakura’s Sunnyhills School and Glendowie’s Churchill Park School each won a first prize of $2000.00 for their projects.