SENIOR students from eight Catholic primary schools have again vied for top spot at the annual interschool Mathematical Minds Competition hosted by St Elizabeth's School, Tarragindi.
But, when the dust settled after a morning of complex equations, calculations, and computations, it was the Year 6 team from Our Lady of Mount Carmel, Coorparoo, who came out on top.
Second place was awarded to students from Christ the King School, Graceville, and the team from St Joachim's School, Holland Park, took out third place.
St Elizabeth's Principal Peter Griffin said the annual competition was attracting greater interest each year and was a genuine opportunity to build community spirit amongst Catholic primary schools across the local area.
He said teams from St Agnes School, Mt Gravatt, Our Lady of Mount Carmel, Coorparoo, Mary Immaculate School, Annerley, Christ the King School, Graceville, St Pius X School, Salisbury, St James School, Coorparoo, St Joachim's School, Holland Park, and St Elizabeth's vied for the title of Senior Champions.
“This tournament is a valuable part of our Learning Enhancement Program, enabling high-achieving students to use creative strategies to solve challenging problems," Peter said.
“Furthermore, bringing people together from other school communities for an event like this is so affirming.
“They've had an opportunity to build relationships and work cooperatively in teams.
“There was certainly no way of curbing the excitement and enthusiasm of students as they launched into the challenges.
“The competition was challenging but we worked as a team and tried our best!" remarked one of the senior team members from St Elizabeth's.
Teachers from the eight participating said they also enjoyed the opportunity to reconnect.
St Agnes Primary Learning Leader Rachelle French said it was a fabulous morning of Mathematics.
“Our students loved the experience and were challenged at just the right level," Rachelle said.
“It's great for them to have an academic event to partake in to really use their areas of strength and also to work as a team." she said.
Mary Immaculate School Support Teacher: Inclusive Education Alison Smith thanked St Elizabeth's staff for hosting a great morning of maths.
“The children really do enjoy it," she said.
Christ the King Primary Learning Leader Jacqueline Bazzo-Maclean said the Mathematical Minds competition made maths fun for the students and provided an audience for maths.