Congratulations to our Australian students, who collectively achieved one of our best set of results at the FPSP International Conference in the last twenty years.

All the Australian schools attending the 2009 International FPS Finals in Lansing, Michigan, experienced major success of some sort in their particular aspects of the competition. What was particularly pleasing was the breadth of the Australian successes across all the components. Australian teams were placed in all three divisions of the Global Issues Problem Solving competition (the new official name for the booklet program in the FPS organisation), including a championship for St Joseph’s College, Brisbane, QLD in the Senior Division, and each of our Community Problem Solving teams achieved major success in their sections. Australians were also placed in components such as the Alternates Global Issues Problem Solving and the Adult competition.  And, in a well-deserved result, Emily Dirckze of Loreto Normanhurst in Sydney was awarded the inaugural FPSPI Student Scholarship on the basis of her achievements in FPS and other parts of her life to date.  A full list of Australian achievements can be found at the end of this report.

I was also honoured to be asked to stand for, and be elected as, the Programs Chair on the Board of Trustees, the body which governs FPS at the global level. In this, I am following on from my predecessors who have also represented Australia and the non-US perspective on the Board of Trustees: Suzanne Strangward and Valerie Volk. I look forward to working with a very fine group of people who all have the interests of the Program as a whole in their hearts, helping them take Future Problem Solving further into the new century and into new parts of the globe.

Niranjan Casinader

FPSP International Conference 2009: Australia Results

3rd Place Equal: Team Global Issues Problem Solving - Junior Division
Ardross Primary School - WA

3rd Place: Team Global Issues Problem Solving - Middle Division
Knox Grammar School - NSW (Team M202)

International Champions: Team Global Issues Problem Solving - Senior Division
St Joseph's College - Qld

1st Placed Team: Alternate Global Issues Problem Solving - Senior Division
Samanth Raftery, Marryatville High School - SA

2nd Placed Team: Alternate Global Issues Problem Solving - Senior Division
Jessica Drayton, Loreto Normanhurst - NSW

7th Place: Individual Global Problem Solving - Senior Division
Naomi Wootton, The Illawarra Grammar School - NSW

1st Place - Health and Human Concerns, Community Problem Solving - Junior Division
Melbourne Grammar School, Grimwade House - Vic

1st Place - Education, Community Problem Solving - Middle Division
Loreto Normanhurst - NSW

1st Place - Education, Community Problem Solving - Senior Division
The Illawarra Grammar School - NSW

3rd Place - Health and Human Concerns, Community Problem Solving - Senior Division
Ivanhoe Girls' Grammar School - Vic

4th Place: Presentation of Action Plan - Junior Division
Ardross Primary School - WA

4th Place: Presentation of Action Plan - Middle Division
Knox Grammar School - NSW (Team M201)

2nd Place Team: Adult Global Issues Problem Solving
Nicky Desoe, Coach, Indooroopilly State School, Qld

FPSPI Scholarship 2009 - Emily Dirckze, Loreto Normanhurst - NSW