Comox Valley students put their Minecraft skills to the test, building everything from underwater libraries and floating classrooms to Mars-bound science labs.
The students showcased boundless imagination and innovation in this year’s Minecraft Challenge: The Epic School Build-Off. Comox Valley Schools announced the winners of the competition, recognizing students who brought their dream schools to life.
The competition was in three categories: primary, intermediate and secondary. There were first, second and third place winners, and one class from each division got to have a pizza party as well.
This year’s challenge encouraged students to build schools that could exist anywhere, and feature anything. Along the way, students integrated accessibility features such as elevators and wider doorways, sustainable infrastructure like rooftop gardens and wind turbines, and futuristic designs that included mine cart transportation and solar-powered science labs.
“The creativity and care that students put into this year’s builds was truly inspiring,” said Brian Carmichael, one of the competition judges. “These aren’t just fun designs — they’re thoughtful, inclusive, and forward-thinking visions of what learning spaces could be.”
The winners are:
Primary Division
1st Place: Trinidad Hartman, Cali Morris, Georgia Adams, Hannah Davis – Aspen Park Elementary (Teacher: Katherine Roberts)
2nd Place: Myah Moore – Aspen Park Elementary (Teacher: Kirsten Rhenby)
3rd Place: Pheonix Krueger-Dalrymple, Georgia Berikoff, Aila Hermkens, Kyah Wilson, Gwen Webber, Samantha Reynold – Arden Elementary (Teachers: Melanie Smith and Sarah Coull)
Class Pizza Party: Arden Elementary – Sarah Coull’s Class
Intermediate Division
1st Place: Malina Hazeldine, Rowen Epp – Aspen Park Elementary (Teachers: Marissa and Kari Matthews)
2nd Place: Jack Zacharias – Aspen Park Elementary (Teacher: Ria Volkers)
3rd Place: Kristina Dimitriou, Emily Woodason, Grace Lafleur, Sophie Lafleur – Lake Trail Community School (Teachers: Jennifer McDonald and Jennifer Yager)
Class Pizza Party: Lake Trail – Jennifers Yager and McDonald’s Class
High School Division
1st Place: Simon Roberge, Barrett Sears – Highland Secondary (Teacher: Tami Jerome)
2nd Place: Dakota Bowles – Lake Trail (Teacher: Kevin Flesher), Brendan Cashman, Marshall Clark, Hawkeye Gillespie, Jordyn Goldsby, Christopher Martin, Brooke Sundstrom, Jonah Szilvassy – Lake Trail (Teacher: Kevin Flesher)
3rd Place: Jacob Williams – Highland Secondary (Teacher: Chris Hazeldine)
Class Pizza Party: Lake Trail – Kevin Flesher’s Class
"This competition offers some great examples of several design principles in action from Comox Valley Schools Strategic Plan including personalized and experiential learning, as well as flexible and digitally enhanced learning environments," a release from the school district says. "Congratulations to all our amazing builders and thank you to our amazing parents/guardians and teachers who helped students with their projects along the way."
