School District 69 students pitted their skills against other schools at the Skills Canada BC’s 2019 Provincial Competition and did exceptionally well.
The annual competition, held at the Tradex in Abbotsford, had more than 600 competitors from Grades 6-12 as well as post-secondary students that competed in 58 events in fields that include aerospace, automotive, 3D animation, baking, welding, robotics and many more.
SD69 had students that competed in the Junior Skills Potential Energy Vehicle, Gravity Cars, Wind Turbine, and Spaghetti Bridges.
At the end of the day, three SD69 schools in the Potential Energy Vehicle competition dominated and swept the medal podium.
Amber Van Der Mark, Applied Design Skills and Technology teacher of SD69, said it was a great achievement for the students as all three schools beat the provincial record for run length.
Last year’s record of 68 feet was shattered by the Oceanside Elementary team of Cameron Cross and Kyla Button McMeans, who set a new mark with an 86-foot run.
Finishing in second place was the Springwood Elementary duo of Blake Bortolotto and Benji Ban and the bronze went to the Oceanside Elementary tandem of McKinley Shworan and Nathan Ponsford.
In the high school division, Ballenas Secondary’s Kiera Lowrey earned a silver medal in hairstylist category.
The others students that competed were: Wind Turbine – Liam Forster, Mason Molyneaux, and Khoa Lee from Bowser Elementary; Gravity Cars – Carlin Rix, Naia Kroeker, Miko Kimoto, and Stella Shaver from École Oceanside Elementary; Lexi Walper and Ally Hermanson from Springwood Elementary; Spaghetti Bridges – Georgia Brown and Presley Gaudreault from Springwood Elementary.
The annual event also had in attendance middle and high school students, parents, career educators, industry leaders, technical experts, sponsors, employers, labour organizations and government.
