Tiny school just misses out on medal

TOP EFFORT: The Tinui School Agrikids team The Kaimanawas comprised Samantha Marriott (left), Molly Winchester and Georgia Higinbottom. The team placed fourth at the Grand Final of the contest held in Taupo earlier this month. PHOTOS/SUPPLIED

An AgriKids team from Tinui School narrowly missed a medal placing at the grand final of the contest in Taupo.

Tinui School principal MaryClare Kavanagh said she had been rapt when two teams from the 45-pupil school won berths at the grand final earlier this month along with a Masterton Intermediate School squad.

The grand final teams from Tinui School included the Kaimanawas comprising Samantha Marriott, Georgia Higinbottom and Molly Winchester, and the Giddy Ups featuring Maddie Taylor, Laura White, and Ana Whitehead; and the team from Masterton Intermediate School was the MIS Fallows comprising William Bysouth, Daniel Coulson and Scott O'Connor.

Mrs Kavanagh said the Tinui School community and parents had rallied behind their teams at the Wairarapa showdown in June that attracted 21 teams representing schools from throughout the region.

"The community really love the heritage of farming and the parents really enjoyed seeing the teams complete practical, basic faming concepts at the regionals and the grand final," she said.

"You can prepare a little for the contest but for the kids it's largely what they do as a matter of daily routine. It's a part of who they are."

AgriKidsNZ is a competition for primary school students aged from 8 to 13. Membership is free and largely based on the annual competition series that runs alongside the TeenAg competitions and ANZ Young Farmer Contest, according to the AgriKids website.

The aim of the junior contest was to promote "the fun side of agriculture while children develop valuable skills" with contests featuring teams of three pupils competing in preliminary rounds of predominantly agricultural skills-based modules, a written exam and an observation round.

The seven top scoring teams from the preliminaries progress to the Race-Off round where competitors must compete in a number of tasks as quickly and as carefully as possible.

Ana Whitehead and Maddie Taylor said the teams at the Taupo event had been rotated through three 70-minute activities comprising observation, modules and exam elements of the contest.

"As for us, it started with the observation test which was to make sushi. This was to test our listening skills.

"We were given carrots, cucumber and tuna to fill in our sushi roll. We had lots of fun doing this activity and we now all want to make our own sushi at home."

The Tinui teams next completed an exam that included a variety of questions, naming breeds of animals and a 100-word essay.

"This made us think more in depth in the agriculture world."

The final element of the contest had covered seven modules that each took 10 minutes to complete, the girls said.

"We had a range of things to do, from matching native birds to attaching a trough. We had to think hard about a variety of different agricultural subjects. The points from each activity then made up our final score."

The day after the contest, the Tinui School teams completed a bus trip around the Taupo district, including visits to hydro-slides, hot pools, and a motocross track and lunch with a Kiwi champion of the sport.

"This experience has been a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. We totally recommend this to other kids out there who are interested in farming."