Kevin Hogan (Page, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I'd like to acknowledge today the St Mary's Stingers, from St Mary's Catholic College in Casino, who just won the Australian Youth Rocketry Challenge. Not only did this very talented team of six students win with its rocket, appropriately called the Beef Town Bullet; St Mary's was the first school to win this prestigious title in their first year in the competition. The St Mary's Stingers beat 16 other finalists, including seven previous winners. I'd like to congratulate Dmitri Nommensen, Billy Hooper, Jackson Whitney, Mark Thompson, Henry Campbell and Cody Merenda, who were the team that built the Beef Town Bullet. I'd also like to acknowledge the 30 students who were part of the school's STEM program and helped in the research, preparation and development of the rocket, and practice launches. The team was led by the teacher in charge of the STEM program, Matt Rolfe. The challenge was to build and fire a rocket to reach a height of 850 feet within 50 seconds and return to earth with its payload—a raw egg—still intact. Points were given for the height achieved, time in flight and the state of the raw egg on return. The Beef Town Bullets achieved a height of 830 feet in 53 seconds, with the egg uncracked on return. The team won with a margin of 170 points. Matt Rolfe explained of the win:

Our secret was in the mathematics of not just creating enough power but also the appropriate amount of drag. We also used a two-part separation system, which, when hit with the motor back-charge, blew the payload section clear of the rocket. We then gave this section of the rocket its own parachute, allowing us to more accurately control its rate of descent. This was one of the secrets to our success.

I don't necessarily understand what Matt's quote means but I congratulate the team on an absolutely wonderful effort.

I would like to highlight the success of local Casino High School student Jacob Ellis. Jacob is one of 25 year 12 students chosen from nearly 800 candidates to begin their studies at the Australian National University in 2018 as a Tuckwell Scholar. The Tuckwell scholarships are competitive and awarded to outstanding school leavers. The Tuckwell vision is to see highly talented and motivated school leavers fulfil their potential and reinvest their knowledge, skills and experience in ways that benefit others. Competing against students from some of the most prestigious, selective and academically successful schools in the country, Jacob is a fantastic example of what hard work and determination can achieve. Jacob is top of his year for English, biology, chemistry and information technology. He found the scholarship online and took part in the three-stage process that included travelling to Canberra to be interviewed. The scholarship will offer Jacob the significant chance of pursuing his dreams of travel as he hopes to complete law and international relations studies at ANU with the aim of becoming a diplomat or ambassador. I wish Jacob all the very best.