Raroa Second at Mathswell

Raroa 2nd at Mathswell Competition

Congratulations to the Raroa Mathswell Team who came to 2nd in the  Wellington Mathematics Association's Problem Solving Competition, known as 'Mathswell'.   

Thanks for representing Raroa: Tuhina Sambhus,Sarthak Singh, Cameron Pryde, Sebastian Pratt, Scarlett Stallworthy and Michael Ling. Thanks too to Trijal Pednekar who acted as reserve and co-coach. Trijal and Tuhina have recounted the event below.

MathsWell Yr 7&8 Competition - 22nd August 2018

By Trijal Pednekar & Tuhina Sambhus

As the seven Raroan’s arrived at Tawa Intermediate with 33 other Year 7/8 teams. The air was filled with buzzing, chittering and nervousness. Wednesday was the night and we were all prepared to give our A game. The clustered hall gave a sense of calmness yet so much pressure and competition.

The clock struck 7pm; the head judge read out the rules for the competition. The problem solving team went first. They got 15 minutes for 13 difficult questions.

There were also three Kahoots in the competition. At an average, Raroa came 5th in the kahoots at the end.

As soon as the first Kahoot was finished the problem solving test had started. 15 minutes of high tension had pressurised the problem solving team a lot. In the first round, the problem solving group got 1 correct on second try, 1 wrong on both tries, 1 passed and 10 correct on first try.

The multi-choice team got 4 wrong in the first test. The pressure was on one minute and 2 questions left; when the crowd started the countdown our blood curdled. Everyone had their fingers crossed when they started to announce the top ten who would go into the next round. A pang of relief filled us as they said that Raroa was in the top ten out of 32 schools. After that, we had another test before the second round started. For the second Raroa was competing for the cup which was in the shape of a cube.

When the second round started, the problem solving team got 2 questions correct on the second try, 1 pass and 10 correct on first try. The multi-choice team got 4 questions wrong on the second test.

After one more Kahoot, we had the prize giving. First, the main judges gave the prize for the plate and then the cup. We came 2nd for the cup and Newlands Intermediate came first. Even though we came second, we showed our ASPIRE values throughout the competition. Next year, our Mathswell team will be so strong no one will be able to outclass us ( we hope, especially Newlands)!