Adorned in bright colours, wigs and tutus, year 6 students from Macedon Primary School gathered last Thursday afternoon for the annual billy cart races.
The legacy race drew back many past students, with team themes including Sesame Street, The Matildas, Titanic, Princess Express and Grease.
Year 6 transition coordinator and teacher Anthony Bortolot organises the races and said they started from humble beginnings many years ago.
“The last 10 years I have been building this into an annual event that incorporates [science, technology, engineering and mathematics] as a program,” Mr Bortolot said.
“[This] includes learning about force and motion with angles and weight distribution, speed and time calculations all part of our curriculum with maths and science.
“We also write and design the carts, use well being skills to work together and basically make it an enjoyable fun day for everyone to be part of.
“The whole school gets involved making posters and we open the gates to the wider community to come celebrate our students’ achievements.”
The designs are based around teamwork, integrity and creativity which, Mr Bortolot said are some of our school’s values.
“They work closely together as an ensemble to then race against each other to take out the title of Macedon Primary Billy Cart Champions.”
There was a slight twist this year, with teams competing in four heats to find the fastest time and overall winner.
The Matildas claimed first place, followed by the Unsinkable Titanic and Princess Express teams.
“We have had some generous donations and support from our parent community who have helped build some of our billy carts,” Mr Bortolot said.
“[They] also donated money to purchase more helmets and support the safety of our students.”
