Karratha students Have Sum Fun at maths comp

Karratha’s best young maths minds gathered at St Paul’s Primary School on Saturday, June 15, to put their skills to the test.

Have Sum Fun is a Statewide face-to-face competition for Year 5 and 6 students which tests all aspects of maths through problem-solving questions.

Teams from St Paul’s, Dampier, Peg’s Creek, Tambrey, Baynton West and Karratha primary schools competed against each other and worked through four rounds of questions, answering eight questions in each round.

St Paul’s teacher Joseph Smyth co-ordinated the competition and said the main challenge for the students was that they only had 20 minutes per round to answer all eight questions.

“The questions ranged in level of difficulty and even managed to challenge the parents and teachers that were watching from the sidelines,” he said.

The competition was fierce with the final decision coming down to the last two rounds.

Ultimately it was The Fraction Freaks from St Paul’s who took first prize, with Baynton’s Math Magicians and Algebrats coming in a close second and third, while Tambrey’s Super Solvers took out fourth place.

“The students get selected for the competition and get to represent their schools,” Mr Smyth said. “It teaches them to work in teams to solve maths problems.”