Wins add up for Greytown Primary

From left rear, Liam Gerritsen, James Nelson, absent is Jack Ryan, Greytown Crosses. From left front, Rhys Kill, Stanley Archibald, and Corban van Manen, Greytown Arrows. PHOTO/NATHAN CROMBIE

Maths whizzes from Greytown Primary School broke a 14-year trophy drought and also claimed a first time championship for their school at the 2014 Matharapa contest.

Deputy principal Neil Preston, who leads a mathematics extension class alongside fellow teacher Paul Hammond, said extra number-crunching tuition was taken by each member of the three teams the school fielded at the competition held over two days at Wairarapa College last week.

Mr Preston said the Greytown Crosses team took the Year 7 trophy for the first time ever and the Greytown Arrows team won the Year 8 Trophy for the school for the first time in 14 years.

The Greytown Stars placed second in the Year 5 and 6 competition, Mr Preston said, and he put down the teams' successes to sound preparation in the maths extension class.

"The groups meet once a week and run through problem-solving and while we didn't really cram ahead of the Matharapa, we did prepare."

He said the victories were very welcome and put paid to the "long time between drinks" the school had endured at the annual contest.

The winning teams took home prize packs that included scientific calculators, Rubik's Cubes, games, and snacks.

Penny Walker, St Matthews Collegiate School teacher and Wairarapa Mathematics Association member, said more than 400 students from Year 5 to year 10 had competed at the 2014 Matharapa contest, which had been "very successful".

Winning team in the Year 5 and 6 North (Wairarapa) grade was Hadlow Crafty Calculators, with Opaki Numerators second and Opaki Ninjas third. The Year 5 and 6 North (Wairarapa) grade winner was Martinborough Maths Masters, with Greytown Stars second and Kahutara Unicorns third.

The winner of the Year 7 grade was Greytown Crosses, with MIS Aces second and Opaki Ninjas third.

The winner of the Year 8 grade was Greytown Arrows, with MIS Py second and Dalefield third.

The winning team in the Year 9 grade was Kuranui Denominators, with WaiCol Legendre second and Rathkeale Four third.

The winner of the Year 10 grade was Rathkeale Four, with Rathkeale One second and Ponatahi Smarties third.