On Tuesday 13 August, Rutherford College sent two teams to the Auckland Math's Challenge, a Mathex-style competition for Māori and Pasifika Juniors organised by the University of Auckland. Prior to this, Rutherford College was a part of the Central West division for the Math's Challenge, competing against schools from the Central-West area of Auckland. This particular event was the fifth and final event for the year, where the Central-West schools were invited to compete against schools from South Auckland who had been competing in their own division for most of the year. All up, there were around 40 teams from 15 different schools across the country all in the competition hosted at De La Salle College. The second place Rutherford team (pictured) consisted of Milana Alefaio, Zaibyn Lagatule, Tuva Botting and Ruby Paapu.

We had seen success in the Central-West division, but the South Auckland schools always bring a strong competition, so we knew that we needed to step up our game. The Year 9 event went well. Rutherford managed to finish in the top 5, but were unable to finish on the podium this time. However, in the Year 10 competition, after a dramatic one-on-one tiebreaker, one of our Year 10 teams managed to take second place over the defending champions, Papatoetoe High School.

The culmination of all our practice and hard work was rewarding for all of us, who managed to take home some Westfield vouchers as prizes for the year’s worth of Maths Challenge events. It was great to be a part of this programme that provides opportunities for Māori and Pasifika to thrive in a Math's environment and promote success in Math's for our rangatahi.

Thanks to Mr Talamaivao and Mr Tagaloa who organised and transported us to and from all the events of the year. We’re looking forward to next year’s event!