Last Wednesday, Mr Pap took four students - two Year 7s and Year 8s to compete in the HICES Mathematics Challenge at Richard Johnson Anglican College. It was a really fun day where they got to meet other students from 22 different schools across NSW who share our passion for maths. One team even travelled over 500 kilometres from Armidale to be there! There were 40 teams in total, and they worked through some tricky maths problems while competing against other schools in a friendly and exciting way.

The four of them teamed up for the challenge and kicked things off with a fast-paced problem-solving session. They had to race through as many tricky puzzles as they could, including logic problems, shapes, and equations. It took teamwork and some serious thinking!

Next up was the individual pattern round, where each of them had to identify number sequences on their own to earn points for the team. Then things got intense in the relay finals! Year 7s and Year 8s took turns solving problems – one person would finish, then pass it on to the next. They had to rely on each other, and it was all about speed and precision.

Unfortunately, they didn’t get the first place, but weren’t far off – just 45 points away,  about 4 or 5 questions! But more than the scores, they got to connect with students from other schools while taking on some tough challenges. It was a great chance to sharpen teamwork and maths skills, and even though it was exhausting, it was worth it!

Mrs Nimmi Martin
Head of Mathematics