Digital
Technology of the Future
Digital at St Peters is a cocurricular program available to students from Years 5 –12. Within the program, students are given the opportunity to take part in Robotics, Coding and eSports; learning activities, challenges and competitions. All abilities are catered for, from beginners to students aiming to compete at an international level. In all pursuits, students are given a clear goal to work towards whilst also being encouraged to discover a broad range of ways to achieve a solution.
Something for Everyone
There are varied opportunities for our students to compete and take part in projects and challenges. For example, students who participate in Robotics can compete in Sumo, Soccer, Rescue, Dance or Rescue Maze competitions. Students who are not interested in competing are also catered for; they can plan, code and build their own robots, electronic devices and machines. FIRST (For the Recognition of Science and Technology) is a global organisation that supports students to recognise the real-life application of robotics, engineering and programming. These challenges are more advanced and involved, requiring students to design and construct larger and more custom-made robots. Students use complex sensors, programming, 3D printing and CAD to create a robot for a different purpose each season. They are required to have a detailed journal process to demonstrate their knowledge and understanding, their progress and their involvement with mentors and industry.
With emerging technology, it is important that our students are confident not just in the use of digital tools and physical computing, but also in programming and coding. Students are supported to learn blocky coding or text based languages, and given opportunities to apply their knowledge to build apps, games or other digital solutions.
eSports was incorporated into the Digital portfolio in 2021. The program was introduced to allow our Junior High and Senior School students to develop positive gaming habits and an awareness of digital wellbeing, while providing a platform for students to pursue their passion for gaming. eSports is a constructive pursuit that hones cognitive skills, team building, communication and sportsperson-ship through collaborative video games.
Student success
Digital has been a very successful cocurricular program at St Peters. In 2016, the College gained first place at the FIRST Tech Challenge's Asia Pacific Competition and the National Competition (held at Macquarie University). Our students also won the Brisbane RoboCup Regional Competitions for Primary and Secondary Rescue Competitions and finished a creditable fifth place at the RoboCup International Competition (held in Leipzig, Germany).
Our 2017, 2018 and 2019 Robotics students also took on the international stage and achieved great things—from the FIRST Global Robotics Competition in Washington DC, to the World Robot Summit in Tokyo; the FIRST Global Robotics Challenge in Mexico and the Robotics Olympics in Dubai. In all of these instances, our students have displayed incredible initiative, technical thinking and teamwork.
The St Peters Robotics students work quite frequently with the Robotics students from Grace Lutheran College and Brisbane Grammar School. The first joining of these groups was in 2017, when the students represented Australia at the inaugural FIRST Global Robotics Challenge held in Washington DC. Team Australia were awarded the Silver medal for the Dr Mae Jemison Award for Global Unity.
In 2021, our senior TechGirls team were Queensland Runners Up. The competition saw them working with industry mentor, Dr Urooj R. Khan from La Trobe University and in addition to making the state finals, they also received an Excellence Award for the app they designed to teach AUSLAN to young people. In 2022 the TechGirls team were awarded ‘Queensland Secondary Schools Most Innovative Design’ for their Pantry Saver app, which tackled the global issue of food waste and food shortages.
Although it is still relatively new at St Peters, the eSports leagues have been recognised for their skills in many competitions. The Rocket League team made it to the finals for the XP High School League Cup, and have competed at the Brisbane Ekka for the exhibition finals. Overwatch 2 has successfully made it to the finals. The Minecraft teams have won first and second place at the FUSE Cup Minecraft Capture the Flag events and were successful in the AIC Minecraft Competition. Thanks to sponsorship from the local eSports academy, EndGame, the teams are now able to wear eSports Jerseys when competing, to show their pride in the College and the sport.
Digital Support Group
Digital at St Peters is supported by the Digital Parent Support Group. The Group provide fundraising opportunities, classroom support, professional assistance and industry advice, all of which have allowed Digital to grow within the College. We are extremely thankful for the Digital Parent Support Group—because of them, any interested student has been granted the opportunity to learn valuable skills.
Robotics Information Flyer
