News Archive

Once again, the Australian representatives at IC did themselves proud with the level of their enthusiasm and involvement at IC. After several days of very successful homestays with local Colorado families who also had children attending IC, the Australian contingent found themselves much in demand throughout the four days of competition, not only for their souvenirs and friendship, but also for their highly-prized Australian team shirts that were the highlight of the t-shirt exchange market!

In competition, the students also showed considerable talent and just why they were worthy Australian champions in 2005. The breadth of their achievements was particularly notable and showed that Australia is now a force in all parts of the international competition, both individual and team.

And it was not just the children who were recognised for their FPS skills: Australian adults also featured amongst the presentations. Nicky Desoe, coach of the Indooroopilly SS Junior team, became the second Australian coach to be in a placed Adult team. Niranjan Casinader and Dr Valerie Volk, the National and Deputy National Directors, were awarded plaques for reaching five years as affiliate directors of the Australian FPS Program. And Dr Volk was awarded the prestigious John Daughtrey Award for her immense contributions to the development of Future Problem Solving in Australia, Singapore and Hong Kong! In her absence, Dr Volk was also voted on to the Board of Trustees for the international Program as Chair of the all-important Policy Committee. She is only the second non-US person to sit on the Board of Trustees in over thirty years (the first was the former Australian Director, Suzanne Strangward).

Dr Volk's award means that all four of Australia's affiliate directors in its 18 year history have been honoured by Future Problem Solving Program International: the late Keith Frampton (1988-1995) has the annual Coach's Award named in his memory (won by NSW State Convenor Jan Hales in 2004); and Suzanne Strangward (1995-2000), Niranjan Casinader (2001- ) and Dr Valerie Volk (2001 -) have now all been recipients of the John Daughtrey Memorial Award for FPS Administration.

In many ways, this depth of success says more about the quality of the FPSP Australia program than perhaps a single major booklet success might have done and reflects the growing maturity of our Program and the positive effect that it is having on the lives of Australian students. Although there is more that can be done, we are clearly moving in the right direction as an organization and, as a Committee, this is a gratifying endorsement of our work.

Click here to see a web gallery of the Australians at the 2006 IC!

After the Australians had returned from the USA, the following message was received from Marianne Solomon, Executive Director of Future Problem Solving Program International Inc, Florida USA.

Following a query from a coach, the International Office discovered that a major processing error had been made in the evaluation of the Middle Booklet Division at the recent 2006 International Finals, held in Colorado, USA.
A review of the evaluation followed and, as a result, the Australian team from The Illawarra Grammar School, NSW has now been named as equal Middle Division International Booklet Champions for 2006! Understandably, the team (Scott Marsh, Edward Riordan, Rebecca Cross, Jessica Steele) and their coach , Jan Hales, are ecstatic about this result after the relative disappointment being placed fourteenth. They will receive their trophy at the Opening Ceremony of the 2006 National Finals, to be held on October 13-15 at the University of Melbourne.
On behalf of the Australian Future Problem Solving community, I would like to congratulate the TIGS team on their success; belated it may be, but a most deserved result, nevertheless. In particular, I would like to commend of the work of Jan Hales, who continues to show her pre-eminence as a coach. She has now coached several Middle Division champion teams at the international level, a remarkable effort by any measure and very rare indeed in Future Problem Solving at this highest level. Jan, of course, has already been recognized for her coaching skills by the International FPS body when she was awarded the 2004 Keith Frampton Award for Coaching Excellence at that year’s International Conference.

It is also appropriate that we acknowledge the approach of the new Executive Director of FPSP International, Marianne Solomon, in dealing such a difficult situation. Her readiness to investigate the concern, admit the error and then take prompt action to ensure that all deserving FPS students were honoured for their achievement by making additional awards is both gratifying and commendable. We are proud to be an affiliate of a Program administered by someone who has the well-being of students and the Program so foremost in her thinking.

Another pleasing aspect of the results at the International Finals was the success of one of Australia’s mentored regions, Singapore in its first year of participation at the International Conference. The strength of this performance augurs well for the time when Singapore becomes an affiliate in its own right in the not-too-distant future: congratulations to May Tan and her Committee for the excellent progress that they have made this far. Another region, Malaysia, made a big impact in the Variety Show with the singing of traditional Malaysian songs by a large group of students from Malaysia, Australia and the USA.

Results: Mentored Regions

Competition	Placing	Name	School	State
Senior Alternates	1st Place Team Member	Shuyin Chua	Raffles GirlsÕ School (Secondary)	SINGAPORE
Scenario Writing	1st Place Middle	Olivia Ho Min Wei	Raffles GirlsÕ School (Secondary)	SINGAPORE
Scenario Writing Middle Onsite	1st Place Team Member & Best Writer	Athena Tan	Raffles GirlsÕ School (Secondary)	SINGAPORE
Scenario Writing Middle Onsite	2nd Place Team Member	Hannah X.Y. Cheng	Raffles GirlsÕ School (Secondary)	SINGAPORE
CmPS Middle (Health & Human Services)	2nd	Coach: Kong Hwee Ling	Raffles GirlsÕ School (Secondary)	SINGAPORE
CmPS Junior (Education)	2nd	Coach: Tan Mdm Bee Bee & Tan Ying Kiat	Nanyang Primary School	SINGAPORE

STOP PRESS!!

Just named as

Joint International Middle Division Booklet
Champions !

Kate Champ
NSW

Senior Individual
Booklet Champion

Nicky Desoe
QLD

Adult Team

2nd Place

Nudgee Junior College, QLD:

CmPS 1st Place
Junior Division
(Health & Environment)

Indooroopilly SS, QLD: 6th Place
Junior Team Booklet

lllawarra Grammar School, NSW:

Scott Marsh,
Edward Riordan, Rebecca Cross Jessica Steele

Illawarra Grammar School, NSW:
7th Place
Junior Team Booklet

Jocelyne Desoe
QLD

Junior AlternateTeam

1st Place

Sarah Stone
NSW

4th Place
Junior Scenario Writing/
2nd place
Team Onsite Scen Writing & Best Writer

Remember the GST.. and FPSP Australia ABN details

A reminder to all schools that FPS Program Australia Inc is registered for GST: all payments for registrations and/or registrations in the Macquarie Bank FPSP must include GST. Full details are in the current Registration Handbook. ( All prices and charges advertised are inclusive of GST).

Details of the ABN for FPSP Australia Inc are listed on the main page of this website and in the Registration Handbook.

National Finals 2005: the best attended in 17 years!

The National Finals of 2005 were notable for a number of reasons: the second time outside Victoria, again hosted warmly by Loreto Normanhurst; the first time that teams from Singapore participated, along with students from Hong Kong and Malaysia; and a record number of people who attended. The Conference Dinner, held on the Friday evening before the booklet, saw 500 coaches, parents, students and guests at the Opening Ceremony, approximately 15% more than expected. A revised schedule, which saw the Action Plan Presentation Finals on the Saturday evening, after the heats, was a great success. Not only giving a breathing space to the organisers on the Saturday morning, the new timeline enabled most teams to go sightseeing on the Sunday morning, with many interstate teams taking advantage of the organised tour of major Sydney highlights.

In terms of the results, there were a number of notable successes. Queensland dominated the booklet program, with one of the most successful teams being from Indooroopilly SS in their first year of competition; they won the Junior Championship and placed in the Action Plan Presentation as well. The first E. Paul Torrance Youth Awards for Contribution to Future Problem Solving were announced, with only one of the three 2005 recipients - Simon Casinader of Victoria - being able to attend in person due to the timing of Year 12 examinations in different states. Stephen Barrett (WA) and Tristan Arnold (NSW) received their awards at special ceremonies at their schools in mid-September.A number of Singapore schools showed the outstanding progress that had been made in only one year of participation, with high quality work being displayed in both the booklet and Community Problem Solving competitions. In the Senior Division, St Peter's College of South Australia won the competition for the first time after a number of years of success at the more junior levels. The Senior team from Caulfield Grammar School in Victoria completed their last year of FPS competition by successfully defending their Action Plan Presentation championship from 2004 ( believed to be the first team to do this in the history of FPS in Australia) and completed their third top 7 finish in a row. A number of government schools from different states were in the final for the first time: Clontarf Beach High School ( QLD), Mt Erin Secondary College (VIC) and Launceston-Newstead College (TAS), the first joint Tasmanian team at the senior level and showing how students in the senior colleges in that State could continue their FPS involvement.

Next year sees the first final to held at the University of Melbourne, hopefully a taste of more to come- roll on 2006!

Scenario Writing Competition Results for 2005

A full set of results is now available. Congraulations to all the placegetters in each division, who will be invited to receive their awards at the National Finals, to be held on October 14-16th at Loreto Normanhurst, Sydney. In addition, as at the International Finals, they will be invited to participate in an onsite scenario writing competition, the first time that this has been offered at the Australian Finals

International Conference 2005: a year of Australian successes in different areas

(by Dr Valerie Volk, Deputy National Director)

Our flag bearers did us proud, as always - and the various costumes met a good response, especially the St Peter’s kangaroo, who hopped down the aisle, and the Firbank koala, and all the well-chosen outfits. I was also delighted with the great participation from our teams in activities - the variety Show especially, where many of our teams joined in a spirited production of Waltzing Matilda, and individual students were well to the fore in many other combination acts. Plenty of Aussie presence!

The CmPS team attracted the usual enthusiastic crowds, and there was enormous applause for our Junior Division scenario writing winner’s story. Lara Donovan’s tale, Outsmarted, was read to a really positive audience by a writer from Iowa, and the Senior Division winner, Rachel Berecka from Texas, was so impressed that she wrote a note of congratulation for me to bring home for Lara.

Australians also picked up a few really commendable awards:

Alternates 2nd Junior team member: Samantha Currie (Firbank Grammar, Vic)
Alternates 2nd Middle team member: Jonathon Edmondson (Wesley College, WA)
Alternates 2nd place Senior team member: Erin Sullivan (Loreto Normanhurst, NSW)
On-site scenario writing 1st place team member: Hannah Hornsby (Trinity Lutheran College, Vic)
Team Booklet Senior Division 6th place Wesley College, WA

The other booklet teams did consistently well, with all coming in the top third of their divisions, highlighting the overall strength of the Australian Program. The two junior teams came 12= (The Illawarra Grammar School) and 14= (Firbank Grammar), with Brisbane Girls' Grammar and Wesley College Perth holding similar places in the Middle Division. Loreto Normanhurst came 11th in the Senior Division, just missing an official placing.

However, the outstanding achievement for the year was the award of the John Daughtry Award for his impressive achievements as an administrator to Niranjan Casinader - an award that came as a real surprise to him when I emailed about it, as he had no idea that Jan Hales (NSW), Mary Lane (NSW) and I had nominated him for this in recognition of all his work for FPSP Australia. Congratulations, Jan!

Warmest thanks to all coaches, evaluators and chaperones for all their work in making this such a great experience for all of us who attended, and to all students for their commitment and participation. Well done!

Exciting new developments in the progression of FPS as a classroom tool took place during the second half of 2005. Contarf Beach SHS in Brisbane became the first school of any sector, and certainly the first government school in any sector to look at using the Macquarie Bank FPS Program as the basis of their Year 9 SOSE teaching program. Following on from a presentation given by National Director Niranjan Casinader at the ACEL Conference in Sydney during September 2004, attended by the deputy principal of the school, two teachers were trained as coaches in early 2005.

This was followed by two more SOSE staff, including Stuart MacDonald (Head of SOSE), being trained as coaches in December. A more intensive staff training day of all SOSE staff was the next step, with the aim of adapting Community Problem Solving as the foundation of the compulsory SOSE semester elective in future years. The enthusiasm of the staff was noticeable as the day progressed as the benefits of the Program became clear, particularly in how Community Problem Solving related to an existing local area study that the faculty teaches.

At the end of the day, it was agreed that one or two classes would pilot the program in Community Problem Solving in 2005, before its introduction to al 9 or 10 semester groups in 2006. The staff also decided to enter a team of gifted students in the regular booklet program as well as using relevant past future scenes in teaching units such as Antarctica to students in Year 8, giving all students exposure to the FPS process before the Year 9 program was experienced.

Click here to see pictures of the SOSE staff development day at Clontarf Beach SHS.

Renewal of funding support from the Macquarie Bank Foundation: 2004-07

It is with great pleasure that we announce that the Macquarie Bank Foundation has renewed its funding support for Future Problem Solving in Australia for the next three years. The funds received will not only allow us to maintain our fees as low as possible, but also to continue to promote and develop access to the Macqurie Bank Future Problem Solving Program in all parts of Australia, including regions outside the capital cities. The funds will be used to subsidise training visits to these parts of Australia as well as to develop the FlexiComm system into a global leader in the delivery of FPS Programs to schools both in Australia and overseas. The Foundation is also extending its support to includeupdating and reprinting of our office stationery, business cards and publicity fliers, which is a considerable contribution in itself.

The Executive wishes to particularly thank Ms Julie White, Manager of the Macquarie Bank Foundation, for her past and continuing support of the Program and its personnel.

Finals of Macquarie Bank Future Problem Solving Program: October 15-17, 2004 :
Deakin University, Melbourne Campus

The 2004 National Finals were the last to be held at Deakin University and marked the end of an era in the history of Future Problem Solving in Australia. (Negotiations are currently being undertaken with another major Melbourne university as the venue for future Melbourne-based national finals; at the time of writing, the prospects are very promising- we hope to make an announcement in early 2005).

Given the significance of the 2005 finals, therefore, it seemed appropriate that these finals were generally seen to be the best yet, building upon the experiences of 2003 in Sydney. Congratulations to all the students who participated, the coaches and parents who attended as helpers and chapeones, and all the FPS Committee staff and helpers who all collaborated to organise such a successful event.

Particular thanks for that success must go to Allyson Bougoure (Office Manager extraordinaire), Louise Heilbuuth (State Convenor - Victoria), Stephanie Amir (Organisation of Action Plan Presentations), Murray Gill (Evaluation Co-ordinator), Sue Douglas and Ainsley Faulkner (CmPS Judging)as well as our various student helpers from NSW. We are also indebted to those who presented the awards at the Closing Ceremony: Sarah Robinson( representing the Macquarie Bank Foundation), Asso Prof Noel Gough (Deakin) and John Tobin (Metamarc Pty Ltd).

In 2005, Australia will have one of its biggest contingents ever attending the National Finals - good luck to all concerned!

A full web gallery giving a sample pictorial record of the experience can be seen by clicking here.

International Conference 2004: another year of Australian success

This year saw one of the largest Australian contingents to attend IC, held for the first time at the University opf Kentucky in what is the home town of the International Program, Lexington. Six booklet teams, one CmPS team and two individuals were present with their coaches and a number of parent chaperones, along with Niranjan Casinader (National or Affiliate Director), Jan Hales, Mary Lane (Booklet Evaluators) and Ainsley Faulkner ( CmPS Evaluator).

It was also a year of consistent success, with all teams and individuals being involved in some form of achievement

A full gallery of photographs of the Australian contingent and the IC in general, can be seen by clicking here.

Congratulations to ....

In both Junior and Senior Team Booklet Contest, Australian teams were either up on stage as part of honouring the ten last round Finalists or in the top 20:
Junior Division (55 teams)
Mount Scopus Memorial College (Victoria) : 3rd place
St Joseph's College: equal 25th

Middle Division (63 teams)
Wesley College (A): 14t place
St Margaret's AGS (Qld): 19th place

Senior Division (54 teams):
Loreto Normanhurst (NSW): 10th place
Firbank Grammar (VIC): 14th place

In the Action Plan Presentation competition:
Finalists included St Margaret's (QLD) Middle Division and Firbank Grammar School (Vic) Senior Division

Community Problem Solving - a really pleasing result for the team from WA
Junior Community Problem Solving (Environment category) Chrysalis Montessori (WA) 3rd place.

Scenario Writing - in Australia's best performance yet in this part of the IC competition:
Jessica Linton (Blackburn High School/Bryngala Enrichment Centre - Vic) was not only part of the 1st place On-site Scenario Writing team, but also received the Award for Middle Level Best Overall Writer.

In the Alternates Contest (the ad hoc teams created from the reserves who have accompanied the main booklet teams):
Scott Ingram (Wesley College - WA) was part of the Middle Level 2nd placed Alternates team and James Lee (St Joseph's - QLD) and Leora Light (Mount Scopus - Vic) were both in the Junior Division 2nd place team.

In the Individual Booklet competition:
Anna Brzeska (Loreto Normanhurst - NSW) was placed equal 4th in the Senior Division.

Dr Valerie Volk

Congratulations to Deputy National Director Valerie Volk who graduated as a Ph.D in May 2004 ata ceremony in Sydney. Valerie's thesis was on the impact of FPS on the learning outcomes of students, something which is very close to the heart of the FPS Program.

The International FPS Office is pleased to announce the 2004 International Scenario Writing champions. The Junior Division has 6 top places as there is a three-way tie for fourth place. As coaches will be aware, the Australian champion scenarios for 2003 were also submitted to the International Office for consideration in the global competitionm for 2004.

Honourable mention scenario writers include those whose scenarios were in the final round of evaluation. These results will be posted on the International FPSP Web site (www.fpsp.org).

2004 Junior Division International Scenario Writing
1st Jeremy Sobocinski-Alaska "The Zoo of Emotion" Sterling Elementary Coach: Sara Hepner
2nd Tom Lemberg-Michigan "The Real Killer" Cranbrook Vaughan Middle School Coach: Barbara Connolly
3rd Mia Weiss-Washington "A Huge Mistake" Olde Middle School Coach: Debby Benzinger
4th Gabrielle Griot-Rhode Island "A New Light" Barrington Middle School Coach: Angela Beavers
4th Patrick Fallace-Florida "Where Are My Smart Clothes?" Indialantic ElementaryCoach: Vicki Stein
4th Andy Doolittle-Connecticut "Case 824" Hebron Elementary SchoolCoach: Lisa Thomas
Honorable Mention
Alicia Allen-Virginia, "Glitches," Montross Middle School, Coach: Jane Grimes
Miracle Wang-Wisconsin, "Tiller's Artificial Love," Randall Elementary, Coach: Wenda Mincberg
Patrick Doolittle-Connecticut, "Caribbean Chaos," Hebron Elementary School, Coach: Lisa Thomas
Evan Brudney-Georgia, "Smart Clothes," Hilsman Middle School, Coach: Mrs. Ratnayaka
Eugene Rabinovich-Ohio, "Trouble With the Tabloids," Orchard Middle School, Coach: Sabrina Tirpak
Margo Deihl-Virginia, "Saterna XS, Extra Smart," Northumberland Elementary, Coach: Pam Alderman
Christopher Jayko-Massachusetts, "A.I. Trouble," Fairview Middle School, Coach: Dorothy Stachowicz
Douglas Cole-Texas, "Fatal Malfunction," Independent, Coach: Barbara Hartmann

2004 Middle Division International Scenario Writing
1st Taffy O'Neal-Tennessee "One Small Step" Greenbrier High School Coach: Sandi Swink
2nd Darcy Jo Porter-Kentucky "Dilemma" Paintsville Independent Coach: Kathy Creech
3rd Sarah Crocker-Wisconsin "By the Sword" Hamilton Middle SchoolCoach: Lynn Buckmaster
4th Luke O'Rourke-Idaho "Lost in Irrelevance" Moscow Jr. High Coach: Carolyn Tragesser
5th Laura Robinson-Indiana "When It Rains"Zionsville Community High School Coach: Carole Savitsky
Honorable Mention
Daphne Ezer-New Jersey, "Let Me Live," Thomas Grover Middle School, Coach: Dr. Joan Ruddiman
Michael Rose-Connecticut, "Nadar Ben-Yehuda," North Haven Middle School, Coach: Pam Kendrick
Kyla Davis Horn-Florida, "The Stockholm Proposal," McNair Magnet School, Coach: Janet Murden
Kara McKee-Texas, "Lottery of Fate," Prestonwood Christian Academy, Coach: Shannon Lichty
Reuben Henriques-Wisconsin, "Blackfire," Hamilton Middle School, Coach: Lynn Buckmaster
Rebecca Rapf-Wyoming, "A Journey Through Time and Space," Sheridan Junior High School, Coach: Pat Best
Naomi Barker-Massachusetts, "Scanned!" Galvin Middle School, Coach: Marla Schay Barker

2004 Senior Division International Scenario Writing
1st Jenny Zhang-Georgia "Cara" Cedar Shoals High School Coach: Paul Blais
2nd Daniela Lage-Florida "A.D.A.M." Miami Springs Sr. High Coach: Kathleen Doyle
3rd Elyssa Campbell-Ohio "Shimmering Gold" Solon High SchoolCoach: Elaine Reynolds
4th Tess Caswell-Alaska "Home Away From Home" Soldotna High School Coach: Lisa Kent
5th Keith Sullivan-Washington "Xenophen" Colfax High School Coach: Amy Soncarty
Honorable Mention
David Haines-Idaho, "This Above All," Moscow High School, Coach: Charlene Jakich
Jason Nimersheim-Kentucky, "I Am," Beechwood High School, Coach: Ruth Johnson
Kerri Borden-Kentucky, "All Consuming Rage," Johnson Central High School, Coach: Pam Burton
Leah Boch-Rhode Island, "Rage On," Moses Brown School, Coach: David Boch
Karli McIntyre-Idaho, "History in Repetition," Moscow High School, Coach: Charlene Jackich
Meghan Carlson-Washington, "Spread the News," Walla Walla High School, Coach: John Buissink
Joshua Tapper-Iowa, "Out of the Klosehide," Dike-New Hartford Community School, Coach: Nadene Van Hauen
Eli Hooten-Tennessee, "Brandon's Dream," Central High School-Hollow Rock/Bruceton, Coach: Linda Furr

International Conference 2003: more Australian success in 2003

On June 9th, Valerie Volk ( Deputy National Director) reported that Australia has once again performed extremely well at the International Finals for the third year in a row.

A fuller report, together with a large gallery of photographs of the Australian contingent, can be seen by clicking here.

Congratulations to ....

1 The Illawarra Grammar School (NSW) Middle Division team [Tristan Arnold, Kate Mullany, Sally O’Donnell and Justin Tan], coached by Ms Jan Hales, came first in the Middle Division Team Booklet competition and first in the Middle Division Action Plan Presentation. This is the second year in a row that a team coached by Jan Hales from Illawarra Grammar School has won the Middle Division booklet competition at the International Finals!

2 The Abbotsleigh (NSW) Senior Division team came 8th in the Senior Division Booklet Competition.

3 The All Hallows School (Qld) Senior Division team came 9th in the Senior Division Booklet Competition.

4 Laura Rice of Abbotsleigh was part of the special reserves or Alternate competition, competing with students that she had never met before. She was part of the team that came 1st in the Senior Alternates Booklet competition.

5 Suzanne Strangward ( National Director, 1994 - 2000) : the John Daughtery Memorial Award for exceptional service as an FPS administrator for FPSP Australia and the Board of Trustees, particularly in the area of international regional mentoring

Dana will receive an invitation to participate at IC 2003 direct from the InternationaL Office.

Catherine McClelland, Somerville House, QLD ( Coach: Iris Larsen)
Tristan Arnold, The Illawarra Grammar School, NSW ( Coach: Jan Hales)

Catherine and Tristan reached the last round of marking ( in the top 12 places!)

Konica Australia as new corporate sponsor

For many years, FPSP Australia has relied on Deakin Printing and a very old pre-digital photocopier to produce its materials.The search for a corporate sponsor who could assist in this area has been long, but I am pleased to announce that Konica Australia has agreed to supply us with a brand-new digital copier on very favourable terms. The all-inclusive lease was arranged to suit our needs and budget through the good intentions of a number of key managers from the Konica Australia Melbourne office, with the result that we have a machine that will make us independent of Deakin Printery at a lower cost and with a great degree of flexibility.

As I write, the copier has been installed and training of key personnel has commenced. The level of support is outstanding and is an excellent indication of Konica's proven approach to helping its customers, even small ones such as FPSP Australia!

International Mentoring: developments in Hong Kong and Malaysia

A most successful information and coach training series of work shops was conducted in Hong Kong over the two days, Friday May 9 and Saturday, May 11, at the Hong Kong International School. Australia, which has mentoring responsibilities for the South-east Asia Region, sent Deputy National Director, Valerie Volk, to initiate the program in Hong Kong, and local interest was high.

Forty people, representing 15 schools, attended the work shops, with a mix of primary, junior, middle and senior high school teachers, deputy principals and school directors, and university centre personnel involved. The level of enthusiasm was demonstrated when thirteen of those attending volunteered to join the foundation Regional Committee for FPS: Hong Kong, which will be responsible for establishment of the program under Australia’s guidance.

Click here to go to the Hong Kong region's webpage on this site for a more detailed report.

The National Director, Niranjan Casinader, also visited Malaysia in mid-July to train students, teachers and give a publicity talk.Check the Malaysia webpage on this site shortly for a full report and photograph gallery.

Victoria: Information Day on Nanotechnology (Qualifying Problem)

Arrrangements are now fully in place for the first Information Day to be held in Victoria for several years. Nanotechnology is one of the cutting edge areas of modern expertise and we are fortunate to have gained the support of several key national figures to speak at the forum on July 19th at Caulfield Grammar School (Caulfield Campus) in Melbourne. Confirmed at present at Dr Terry Turney, Co-Director of CSIRO Nanotechnology and John Weckert from Charles Sturt University.

Over 120 students and coaches will be attending the workshop afternoon. A full report with photographs will appear on this page after the event.

Finals of Macquarie Bank Future Problem Solving Program: October 18-20, 2002 : Deakin University

Please click here to see a full set of results for the 2002 finals. The champion teams and individuals in each section have been invited to represent Australia at the 2003 International Future Problem Solving Conference in June.

A gallery of photographs from all parts of the National Finals, can be seen by clicking here.

International Finals 2002: Australia successful once again!

Three Australian teams returned in triumph this week after competing in the International Finals of the Future Problem Solving Program at the University of Connecticut from June 6 to June 9. All teams won either First or Second Places in the highly prestigious international contest, which attracted top problem solvers from throughout the world.

The team of four girls from the Illawarra Grammar School, Wollongong, New South Wales, who were placed First in the Booklet Competition, defeated 66 other top teams, making them Middle Level Grand Champions, with a huge trophy to manoeuvre on the flight home from the USA. This is the second consecutive year Australians have won the Middle Level competition, with a team from Abbotsleigh School, New South Wales, last year's world champions.

The Illawarra girls won the International Championship with their outstanding investigation of the set topic Virtual Corporations. Since qualifying for the international finals last October, the girls have spent many extra-curricular hours researching every possible issue associated with virtual corporations over the next 50 years.

At Junior Level a team of boys from St Peter's College, Adelaide, won through against 54 other teams to be placed Second in both the Booklet Contest and in the Dramatic Presentation competition, thus becoming runners-up to the Champion team. This is South Australia's first placing in the International Contest. Their topic was also Virtual Corporations, a challenging field for junior school students.

In the Community Problem Solving competition, Australia was represented by a team of boys from Nudgee Junior College, Queensland. This team achieved an outstanding result, gaining First Place in the Environment section of the Junior Level competition, with a project titled SMILEY: Securing Moderation in the Lifestyle of Every Youth, which looked at ways of counteracting over-use of electronic games and television by primary school students.

This team also gained the top award for the Most Innovative Solution to a spontaneous problem put to all competing teams at the international competition.

The teams attending the International Finals had all won the right to represent Australia by achieving National Championships at the Australian Finals of the Macquarie Bank Future Problem Solving Program, held at Deakin University's Melbourne Campus last October.

All teams' travel to the USA was assisted by the Macquarie Bank Foundation, and individual teams were supported by sponsors and fund-raising in home states. The students participated in a home stay program with host families in Connecticut before the Finals, even attending local schools with their host brothers and sisters.

Future Problem Solving originated in Athens, Georgia, 28 years ago as an innovative program to encourage gifted students. It has since grown to involve more than a quarter of a million students from 18 countries. All states in America, as well as schools in Canada, New Zealand, South East Asia and Australia, participate in the international finals.

The aim of the program is to challenge and motivate gifted students to think more creatively by becoming involved in activities to increase the flexibility, fluency, originality and collaboration of their thinking, develop research skills, improve communication skills and solve problems by thinking critically and analytically.

These students have something to tell us all about future directions for the world, and especially in the field of virtual corporations - as well as about the fun and challenge of international competition, and pride in representing Australia!

Click here for photographs of the Australian teams at the International Conference

Australian Finals: October 19 - 21st 2001

Over the weekend of October 19-21, 2001, 57 booklet and community problem solving teams from around Australia gathered at Deakin University's Melbourne campus for the Thirteenth Australian Future Problem Solving Finals. In a change from previous years, the booklet competition was held in the late afternoon, allowing all coaches and teams present to meet at the newly instigated conference dinner. In a convivial atmosphere, nearly 250 students from Grades 5 to Grade 12 became acquainted with each other as the coaches were able to sit and converse with a minimum of pressure.

After a concentrated day of evaluation on the Saturday, the teams assembled on the Sunday morning for the traditional parade of the flags and the opening ceremony. This was followed by the Presentations of Action Plans and the Community Problem Solving Fair, during which the teams were also interviewed by the judges.

At the afternoon award ceremony, special presentations were made to retiring long term committee members of FPS Australia, Christine Casinader ( PLC Melbourne) and Andrea Dineen ( Holy Saviour Primary Vermont ). Then the main awards were presented by representatives of three of the Program's major sponsors in Australia: Dr Noel Gough ( Deakin University ); Barbara Kaye ( Sinclair Knight Merz ); and Julie White ( Macquarie Bank Foundation ).

Congratulations to the followiung schools who will represent Australia at the 2002 International Finals, to be held at the University of Connecticut. .

Scenario Writing Winners 2001

International Finals, August 2001: the Australian success

Every year, it seems, Australian teams - along with our Kiwi colleagues across the Tasman - rise to the occasion and prove just how good our students are on the world stage. This year was no exception.

To the delight of all FPS'ers around the country, the team from Abbotsleigh in Sydney won the Middle Division of the Booklet Competition! Congratulations to Shuyin Tang, Verity Ambler, Emma Butcher, Janice So and their coach, Anne White for such a wonderful achievement.

But the good news does not stop there! The Abbotsleigh reserve team members were also in the placings for the Alternate Middle Division Team Competition: Laura Rice ( 2nd) and Megan Hicks ( 3rd ).
The team also won plaudits for their enthusiasm in the Variety Show where they led the now traditional Aussie cheer.

The following is an edited version of the message that Anne White sent to the Abbotsleigh staff. It describes the event far better than anyone else could.

We arrived home safely early Saturday morning. I am now an Oz-Zealander and am very proud of 6 wonderful students! Apparently there was a very determined glint in my eye when the New Zealand coach ( a friend of mine) greeted me with, "You can't beat us!"

The girls trained very hard prior to the competition and excelled in all areas: 2 hour booklet, skit presentation of their action plan solution and their variety concert item before an audience of at least 1500 people. We trained 6 American students to join us on stage with maracas, kangaroo and platypus and we were given a standing ovation with the "Aussie Aussie Aussie Oi, Oi, Oi" call lead by Megan Hicks. We all wore hats with corks and there was a scramble amongst the American kids to own one!

Competition Results:
All our students received awards:
The Champion team consisted of Emma Butcher, Verity Ambler, Shuyin Tang and Janice So.
The reserves were put in mixed teams ( Alternate Teams). Laura Rice was very tearful at the end of the 2 hour booklet competition as the students working with her were unco-operative and she felt she had the most input into actually writing the booklet. She deserves special commendation as her team was second and she received a special trophy. The smile of delight was fantastic!

Megan Hicks was delighted to be in a team with very co-operative students and her team came third.She also stood before the crowd proudly holding her trophy. We were all thrilled for them as it was nerve racking to be placed with strangers in a demanding competition. Three quarters of the way through the closing ceremony half the team had to leave to catch the bus to the airport. the previous evening, I decided that 2 of the girls should stay with me to experience the last of the closing ceremony. Judith had a hire car so we planned to get a lift with her. We drew names out of a hat and felt sad that the others had to depart 5 minutes before the announcement of our division's results. When the top 10 teams were announced in the Middle division we were not on the list and we sat there calmly watching all of them on stage until first place was announced as Abbotsleigh from New South Wales, Australia. I didn't hear the audience erupt into "Aussie Aussie Aussie Oi, Oi,Oi" as I was running up the aisle to point the camera at Emma Butcher and Janice So as they stood proudly holding the trophy. It has been a time of tears mixed with laughter and amazement ever since. Shuyin Tang, Verity Ambler and Megan and Laura were at the airport when the news filtered through in a haphazard way that their team had come first and that was just as exciting and emotional apparently.

You can be very very proud of these wonderful students who will no doubt have a significant influence on our future! Thankyou all for your support.

Our other teams who were at Atlanta should not be forgotten though for all the students involved represented Australia, their schools and their families very well. As an organisation , we thank them all for their hard work. St Peter's Lutheran College from Brisbane ( coach: Rachel Nowitzke ) cane fifth in their section of the Middle Division Community Problem Solving. Loreto Normanhurst - NSW ( coaches: Wendy Wiilson, Mary Lane ) and Moreton Bay College - Queensland ( coach: Margie Luxford ) were unsuccessful, but from all accounts the students learned a great deal and had the experience of a lifetime.

As National Director, I was unable to be present at the International Finals due to school commitments, but I would like to thank personally the following people to did represent the organisation so well in June: Valerie Volk., for attending as Affiliate Director; Ainsley Faulkner, as CmPS evaluator ; Jan Hales ( booklet evaluator); and last, but not least, all the coaches who organised, cajoled and looked after their teams in the USA! Those of us who have done the trip know just how tiring the venture can be, but we can also attest to the value of it, especially for the students.

St Peter's College, SA	Junior Division Champion	Team Booklet
Illawarra Grammar School, NSW	Middle Division Champion	Team Booklet
St. Michael's Grammar School VIC	Senior Division Champion	Team Booklet
Nudgee Junior College, QLD	Junior Division Champion	Community Problem Solving
Jessica Power, Loreto Normanhurst. NSW	Middle Division Champion	Individual Booklet
Melbourne Girls' Grammar School, VIC	Middle Division Champion	Community Problem Solving
Stuartholme School, QLD	Senior Division Champion	Community Problem Solving

International Finals 2006: Australian Successes at Fort Collins, Colorado Results: Australian students