PORT ANTONIO, Portland — It was a triumphant return to Buff Bay High School last Monday for a team of students who used their maths skills to build a crane used to lift an object, and a rover that toppled those built by the competition. They won first place in last Thursday’s regional mathematics competition, besting Port Antonio High and Marymount High.

The contest was part of a regional mathematics expo held under the theme ‘Math Made Real – Reigniting the Passion’. Head of Buff Bay High’s maths department Clyde Gutzmore praised the team of students who took home individual trophies plus one for the school.

“It was good for our students to come out on top and everything that was done was 99 per cent ingenuity and innovativeness of the students. They did far better and beyond what we expected of them,” he gushed.

Participation in the regional competition was a step into the unknown as it was being staged for the first time. The five students, Gutzmore explained, did a good job applying lessons learned in class to a practical challenge.

“We could see where the students used some of the ability that they have in terms of STEM, constructing things using some maths concepts and were able to produce a device that is far simpler than the rest but yet it was able to do what is required to travel the distance — and a longer distance than the rest,” he said proudly.

“I think this will propel the students that were a part of it, and others, to push themselves further and motivate others that there are other aspects to mathematics than just doing the percentages that they can apply to real-life situations.”

He explained that students were selected from grades seven to nine only, as those in higher grades were busy preparing for exams. Those selected had shown promise in maths class. Among them was eighth grader Marlon Eccleston.

“I love mathematics,” he said. “This vehicle was built to go long distance against our opponents and I am happy we won.”

Sutaina Riley, who is in grade seven, spoke of the teamwork that made the win possible.

“This started two weeks ago when Mr Patterson asked for us, the best students in maths. We went and made a crane and we heard that we won. We heard that we had this to do and we all came together and played our part,” she said.

Aiden Lawrence (seventh grader) and Randolph Giddings (ninth grader) worked on cutting out the wheels and axle of the rover while Shanice Morris (ninth grader) helped put it together.

“First we cut out the wheels and doubled them together: four wheels at the front and back to make it sturdy to make it drive by itself. We had one cardboard and it wasn’t sturdy enough as it was wobbly so we added another; we added a stick in the middle and a next cardboard at the top to make it sturdy enough,” Morris explained.

“I feel good we won. First I think it was Compre [Port Antonio High] that was going to win as theirs was moving faster than us. But on the other hand, their ‘Range Rover’ was too heavy as they made it like a box. Marymount had a balloon on theirs but it kept going down and ours went the full distance, about six metres, so we won!” she said smiling.

The win is even more impressive as contestants were not just tasked with making movable objects out of material provided, but they were also required to explain the maths behind their work.

“They had to build a working crane that had to pivot and pick up a certain amount of weight. They had to explain how it works and the mathematics in all of this…Only three made it out of round one to the final out of six entered schools,” explained Portland’s secondary maths coach Lamar Quant.

“The same rubric stood for finals; they had to make a vehicle that travelled a maximum distance. If all vehicles travelled the same distance then the judges would decide on the winner [based on] how they explained the mathematical principle outlined in the design. Buff Bay High came out first, making the maximum distance.”

The win comes on the heels of another accomplishment for the parish mere days after Port Antonio High’s Tanya Dawkins was named Mathematics Teacher of the Year.