The final day of school has come to mean one thing for our sixth graders – The Cardboard Regatta! It is a fantastic way to finish our school year and put into practice two of the mission skills our sixth graders have been working on this year: time management and teamwork!
Working in teams, the sixth graders are challenged to design and build a boat, using just cardboard and duct tape, in a set amount of time. The boat is challenged with being capable of completing the quickest lap in the school swimming pool, powered by two on board crew members.
“You might be wondering how cardboard can float, but a cardboard boat really can float IF it is constructed wisely! Honestly, the best part is that there is really no one way to build a cardboard boat and the rules don't limit their creativity, so we end up with very interesting entries every year! This challenge is a wonderful team-building experience and gives our sixth graders a final opportunity to work together toward a common goal and have a lot of fun doing it,” said Middle School art teacher Tanda Tucker, who brought the tradition to LA.
Below is a listing of this year’s Cardboard Regatta Awards for the Class of 2029:
2023 Regatta Champion with a Time of 38.05 seconds goes to Boat #7, The Squid, captained by Anika Kumar with crew members Aanya Chaturvedi, Gabby Maciorowski, Raj Gandhi and Kaya Kaplan.
Most Enthusiastic Crew goes to Boat #4, The Baconator, captained by Yash Jain with crew members Mimi Meola, Sofia Vidal, Amrit Panigrahi and Arika Shah.
Green & Gold Award for the boat with the most LA inspired theme goes to Boat #2, The J.A.K., captained by Josh Culver with crew members Kemi Kolawole, Ariana Noor, Akshay Shah and Julia Gonnella.
Most Creative Theme, given to the boat that most creatively expresses a theme, goes to Boat #6, Blues Seas, captained by Siddarth Selvaraj with crew members Daania Watson-Wilis, Jenny Le, Hamilton Dressel and Samyak Kumar.
Most Creative Use of Cardboard, given to the crew that is truly inventive with their cardboard, goes to Boat #1, The Big Best, captained by Geeta Kumar, and crew members Leah Alves, Maksim Terziev, Sebastian Lawson and Yash Anavkar.
People’s Choice Award and longest afloat goes to Boat #5, The Soccer Mobile, captained by Lexi Strauss with crew members Krishna Kumar, Carson Cagle, Jimmy Le and Malia Williams.
Best looking boat BEFORE the race goes to Boat #7, The Squid, captained by Anika Kumar with crew members Aanya Chaturvedi, Gabby Maciorowski, Raj Gandhi and Kaya Kaplan.
Worst looking boat AFTER the race goes to #8, Rojo y Azul, captained by Morayo Dickson with crew members Mia Larmony, Aiden Virto, Christopher Gray and Andrew Andrews.
The Titanic Award, given to the crew of the boat that sinks in the most spectacular fashion goes to Boat #3, The S.S. Pig, captained by Rishi Nihalani with crew members Allison Maiga, Bella Paredes, Leo Nieporent and Alex Zhang.
CARDBOARD REGATTA PHOTO GALLERY
Photos by Tanda Tucker, Dorri Ramati and Erika Del Rocco