(Photo above: L-R RPA junior David Novotny, senior Hailey Hearn and exchange student Aviv Branta | courtesy of Redmond Proficiency Academy)
High school team built a trebuchet to throw pumpkins great distances
The Redmond Proficiency Academy announced today that a high school science team won first place in the first annual Huck it for Housing pumpkin throwing competition with their student-built trebuchet over the weekend at the Piggyback Ranch in Bend, Oregon.
The first annual Huck it for Housing event benefited the Kôr Community Land Trust. The competition was open to area high school science teams. Teams were asked to build a trebuchet by doing calculations to determine how to launch pumpkins across a heritage pig farm in Bend. The RPA team won the top prize of $200 and a trophy.
“This was a tremendous engineering challenge for students to design, build, and launch 10 pound pumpkins from an 8 foot tall trebuchet,” said RPA science teacher Josh White. “It was much more difficult than we anticipated, the entire trebuchet broke a day and a half before the competition. This dedicated group of students were able to refine the design and beat out eight other teams from five Central Oregon high schools. The competition was tons of fun and we are already looking forward to next year when we have the opportunity to defend our trebuchet trophy!”
About Redmond Proficiency Academy
The Redmond Proficiency Academy (RPA) is a public charter school operating in the Redmond School District. In its ninth year of operation, RPA serves nearly 900 students in grades 6-12. Students come to RPA from throughout Central Oregon. Using a proficiency-based instructional model in a personalized school environment, RPA strives to prepare all students for success in college and life.
