News College
22 August 2019
Congratulations to our students who are selected for the Tournament of Minds (TOM) Challenge competition this year which will be held at La Trobe University, Bundoora on Saturday, 24 August. This is our 2nd year of participation in TOM and we are delighted to see the enthusiasm and passion that students display throughout the 6 weeks working with their long term challenge.
TOM is a problem solving program for teams of students to demonstrate their problem solving skills and talents in an exciting, vibrant and public way. The tournament also aims to enhance time management, enterprise, working as a team, thinking outside the square, utilising technology, working within a competitive environment and promote knowledge and appreciation of self and others. It also provides a platform for excellence and equips participants with twenty-first century skills and strategies.
Students are required to solve demanding, open-ended challenges from one of the following disciplines: The Arts, STEM, Language Literature, Social Sciences. Teams are required to work together on a Long Term Challenge for six weeks without assistance from teachers, parents or peers. They are encouraged to explore possibilities and experiment with ideas as they endeavour to produce their best possible solution. They develop a creative and original way to communicate this solution to others, working within predefined parameters such as limited materials, complex challenge criteria and the deadline of Tournament Day. The teams have 10 minutes to present their Long Term Challenge to an audience and panel of judges on Tournament Day. There are many rules and requirements that teams need to follow for their Challenge.
The teams must also participate in an unseen Spontaneous Challenge on Tournament Day. This challenge requires rapid interchange of ideas, the ability to think creatively and well developed group cooperation skills. TOM is a celebration of the talents and capabilities of students. Thousands of parents, educators, and interested public flock annually to watch and enjoy the exhilarating spectacle of the presentations and the ingenious solutions created by motivated students who have accepted the Tournament challenge.
Parents are welcome to be part of the audience for Long Term Challenge. Unfortunately, there is no audience for the Spontaneous Challenge except for the judges as it is a Secret Challenge. Parents are welcome to attend and support our teams. A map of La Trobe University, Bundoora showing car parking and where the teams will be presenting on Saturday, 24 August is included below for your reference.
We are pleased to announce the five teams that are ready to take TOM Challenge Competition 2019 representing our College and wish them the best for embarking on this exciting and challenging experience.
Long Term Challenge Time : 8.20am
Spontaneous Challenge Time : 9.30am
Facilitator : Ms Sheerin Ghazali
Long Term Challenge Time : 8.40am
Spontaneous Challenge Time : 9.40am
Facilitator: Ms Aimen Shamsi
Long Term Challenge Time : 8.00am
Spontaneous Challenge Time : 9.10am
Facilitator: Ms Rishma Mansoor
Long Term Challenge Time : 9.20am
Spontaneous Challenge Time : 10.20am
Facilitator: Ms Hebah Abdul-Rahman
We would also like to thank all parents for their support and TOM Facilitators for their relentless efforts to motivate their teams. All the Best to the Al Siraat TOM Teams!
BECS (Melbourne), Post DEd Primary (Melbourne), MEd (IB), (Melbourne), Cert in IE Feuerstein (FIE) – Std & Basic
Shahidah was a key staff member of Al Siraat College when it was first established in 2009. With her passion and enthusiasm, she hoped to be an effective and inspirational leader for Al Siraat College, a school that has the potential for providing opportunities for high academic achievement and personal growth for all of its student population.
Shahidah has accomplished 16 years of teaching and administrative experiences in a variety of school settings in Singapore and Australia. These opportunities have enabled her to develop strong communication, interpersonal, organisational and leadership skills that have allowed her to cultivate a supportive learning environment at Al Siraat.
In a management role in Singapore as the Education Director of Al Khair Education Centre, Shahidah was involved in setting up the centre, and contributed to the successful planning, and management of curriculum program for 600 students aged 3-6 years. This experience also involved facilitating and supervising 35 staff to create a flourishing learning and working environment. From 2006 - 2008 she taught at Australian International Academy, which was her first introduction to the International Baccalaureate program and inspired her to further her studies in teaching.
Shahidah graduated from the University of Melbourne with a Bachelor of Early Childhood Studies as well as a Post Graduate Diploma in Primary Teaching. In 2013 she completed a Master of Education (International Baccalaureate), and is fully trained through the Feuerstein’s Instrumental Enrichment Program in developing cognitive strategies in children.