After weeks of aviation training, science students entered Bedard Gym with the best teammate a boy could ask for – his dad.
Monday marked the first annual grade 6 Father-Son Paper Airplane Competition. The opening ceremonies included a lesson and unit overview of the Air & Flight curriculum and competition instructions. The rules were simple – there was unlimited use of paper, tape, and paper clips, and modifications could be made throughout the competition. Over the course of 30 minutes, each duo strategized what design made their airplane fly the furthest, what type of throw, and even where to hold the airplane in its ‘sweet spot.’ During this time, they recorded their furthest throw and the top eight from each class competed in the quarter-final match.
Many designs were crafted and the planes filled up Bedard Gym. Although points were not awarded for style or soaring, there were some impressive aviation feats. The boys and their dads had a blast working together. In fact, it looked like the dads were having as much, if not more fun than their sons!
When it was down to the final two from each class, Team Bannister and Team Olejarz represented their classmates and both gave it their best throw along the runway. Team Bannister’s throw was their best yet – it went the entire length of the gym and hit eight bricks up against the opposite wall!
Refusing to let Team Bannister’s throw intimidate them, Team Senadeera and Team Boland competed for their class victory. Team Senadeera changed their strategy in this round, and it resulted in Team Boland entering the finals. As both sides strategized, the crowd waited in anticipation. Would Team Bannister be able to pull out another big throw or would Team Boland continue to improve their distance and form and overtake their opponents?
Although Team Bannister was the clear favourite throughout the competition, they laid it all out in the semi-finals and Team Boland's consistency took home the big win!
It was an exciting morning of friendly competition between teams and classes, but most of all, it was a morning full of Andrean spirit and quality time between father and son.
Story by Whitney Elliott
