Wairakei Primary School mathletes had great success at the annual Maths Matters competition.
Maths Matters is an annual team problem-solving competition open to Year 5 & 6 students. It takes place in the evening at Taupo Intermediate.
This year our two Year 5 teams battled each other to take out first and second places in the competition. There was a one-point difference in the final score between these two teams, so it was an exciting battle.
Two teams were also entered in the Year 6 competition. One of the teams took out second place in this competition.
I felt nervous about the time pressure during the competition. We only had 40 minutes to answer 20 questions. We didn't practice at school with any time pressure.
We had a really good team because we all knew how to do different things; Aria can do ratios, I know how to do averages, and Bejanmin can do big timestables.
I felt 50/50 nervous and excited about the competition.
I think maybe we did well in the Year 5 competition because we practiced Year 6 questions with Mrs Sprague in our maths extension group.
Me, Ben and Aria work well together. We are all in the same class and have been quite often.
I hope we can work together and do the competition again next year. I liked doing maths extension.
Waiting for my medal to be presented at assembly was the hardest thing. I was counting the days and weeks.
We need more girls in the competition next year. There was only me and Indigo, the rest were boys.
Sometimes I practiced maths questions at home with my mum.
I felt excited before the competition. We got to play on the intermediate playground to burn off our energy.
We raced through the questions and only used half of the time, so we made paper planes.
I definitely want to do the competition again next year, mainly so we can take revenge on the other team.
We skipped a question in the competition. We should not of done that.
I enjoyed the competition more than the math extension classes.
I would like to do Maths Matters again next year.
I think we might need some Year 7 questions to practice next year. We practiced Year 6 questions, so we found the Year 5 questions quite easy.
The best part of the competition was definitely winning.
I would like to do the competition again next year when I am in Year 7.
I found the math extension helpful because we practiced similar types of questions
The most nerve-racking thing was going up on the stage to receive our medals.
I agree with Andy, the best part of Maths Matters was winning.
I would like to do the competition again next year as a Year 7.
We found some of the questions really easy, and we knew the answer straight away. On some other questions, we had no idea. Trial and error was our main strategy when we had no idea. We just kept trying different things.
Mathematics and problem solving are alive and well at Wairakei Primary School.
It looks like the Math Matters battle between these Year 5 teams is set to continue next year, and it is great to see our Year 6 team wanting to continue with the competition at Intermediate next year as well.
Aria’s reflection that we need more girls in the competition is important, and we definitely have some fantastic girl mathletes ready to accept this challenge in 2025.
I have been teaching since 2004. I started teaching at Wairakei Primary School in 2011. I am married to Steve and we have two children – Myles and Amelia. Myles and Amelia both enjoyed their primary school years here at Wairakei Primary School. I am really proud to be part of this school and appreciate all the amazing opportunities that are given to our children.
I like working with children and teaching. I love the fun that can be had and the feeling of being a part of a child’s growth and development. My favourite subject is maths. I appreciate the patterns and connections that can be found in numbers and I enjoy problem-solving. I have trained as a Math Specialist Teacher (MST).
My family and I love living in the Taupō area. When I’m not teaching I enjoy spending time with my family, walking my dog and mountain biking - which is a particular family passion.
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