Engineering Excellence: St. Alphonsus CES students stand atop the Regional Skills Ontario podium

April 8, 2026

Students at St. Alphonsus Catholic Elementary School in Peterborough are proving that “junk” can be the foundation of engineering success. 

The school is celebrating a double victory following the recent Skills Ontario Junk Drawer Races, where two student teams captured both Gold and Silver regional medals.

“I couldn’t be more proud of the dedication they showed,” said Shannon Cannon, the teacher leading the project. “They learned how to solve real-world problems. Even when their designs started to wobble, they worked through the frustration and emerged with a better, stronger design.”

Tasked with the “Cardboard Car” challenge, Grade 4 and 5 students were required to design and build autonomous vehicles powered only by rubber bands. 

Using everyday paper products, the teams had to ensure their creations could travel a minimum of 15 feet while documenting their entire engineering process, from initial design drafts to the final timed trials.

PVNC Catholic is proud to recognize Annika and Ayla, who earned the Gold medal, and Annabelle, who took home the Silver. 

The winners were lauded by judges for their meticulous measurements, creative decorations, and professional video submissions.