Another highlight of last week’s Catholic School Week for the third-fifth grade was the Pinewood Derby Race. The anticipation for this event is always high, and this year was no different. It’s fascinating to see the different techniques that the students use to try and create the fastest car and coolest design. Each boy walked into the gym with a smile on their face, holding his car, and wanting others to see how cool it looked. Students stood in line to have their car weighed to make sure it is within the specs. Once the car was weighed, it was moved to the pit area where it stayed for the entire race. The boys then took a seat waiting for their name to be called to sit in the designated race seats.
As names were called, four contestants’ cars were carefully placed on the track at a time, making sure they were lined up ready to go. With cheering and noise all around, the four contestants had their eyes fixed on the starting line. Their hearts would begin to beat faster in anticipation of the lever being pulled. With a pop, the cars were off and the students’ eyes were glued on their cars as they raced towards the finish line. Within seconds they reached the end of the track, and the gym would erupt with the sounds of cheers for the winning car. The boys put a lot of time into their designs, and the judges were very impressed with the creativity of the cars. Congratulations to all of the boys for their great effort and especially this year’s Pinewood Derby champions:
1st Place Charlie Schmitt (Back-to-back champion)
2nd Place Simon Engle
3rd Place Luca Gjonaj
4th Place Christian Abraham
