A St. Mary Catholic School Student was the recent winner of the PEO Bridge Building Competition held during National Engineering Week. The Sudbury Chapter of Professional Engineers of Ontario (PEO) held the 13th Annual PEO Bridge Building Competition at Council Chambers at Tom Davies Square for both elementary and secondary students.

Students had to construct a bridge from a kit containing only six balsa wood strips (36″ x 1/4″ x 1/4″) and one bottle of Elmers™ School Glue. Specific construction criteria had to be followed for the bridge building. Bridges were tested to failure in the “Bridge Crusher” which recorded the maximum load carried. Nicole Pinto-Ponce, from St. Mary Catholic School in Capreol was the overall winner in the competition. Nicole placed first in the Elementary division with an outstanding score of 213.2 points.
Her bridge held a load of 143 pounds!

Other members of the St. Mary Catholic School Team included Carli Meeks and Megan O’Link who placed 5th with a load of 30.5 pounds, Davey Meeks and Meagan Larocque who placed 12th with a load of 19.7 pounds, and Daniel Moxam who placed 21st with a load of 15.2 pounds. Nicole was presented with a trophy, which will stay at St. Mary Catholic School until next year’s competition.