Te Horo are MasterMind champions

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Mastermind top team Te Horo School's A team: Patrick Joss, Emma Joss, team captains Jacob Walker and Peyton Morete with the winner's cup and Paige Cull (Click for full size)
Mastermind top team Te Horo School’s A team: Patrick Joss, Emma Joss, team captains Jacob Walker and Peyton Morete with the winner’s cup and Paige Cull (Click for full size)

Kapiti Coast kids love reading and they love a challenge so much that six of the eight teams in the finals finished with just nine points overall in the Kapiti Coast District Libraries Master Mind finals.

These avid young readers had spent several weeks reading and testing their knowledge of the finalist books in the New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults.

The books covered both fiction and nonfiction and picture books, which everyone read and answered questions about.
All the schools entering teams in the junior –years five and six and senior – years seven and eight competition had the same books to read and answered the same question. There were two days of elimination rounds, held in the Te Horo Hall on August 3 and 4. Then the top three in each section went to the next round – two of Te Horo’s senior teams finished on equal points and both went through to the final on August 7 at the Waikanae Baptist Church.

After four tense rounds of questions, the 40 kids in teams of five, were very close on points going into the final round of questions, leaving the anxious contestants waiting for the final results to appear on the screen.

First the junior results were given with Paekakariki School taking line honours with a grand total of 56 points, Te Horo in second place with 50 points and Raumati South with 45 points. The senior results were even closer with Te Horo (team 1) first with 59 points, Raumati South second on 56 and Te Horo (team 2) a close 55 points. The other senior finalists were Raumati Beach on 53 and Kapanui School on 43 points.

The top teams were awarded cups and all contestants received a certificate and prizes including books. Local author, Mandy Hager handed out the awards; she has been nominated in the Young Adult section of the book awards for her book Singing Home the Whale. (Since won).

“It was a very close run competition,” Council’s Libraries and Arts Manager, Leeann Morgan said. “All the students showed great sportsmanship and fantastic knowledge of the books. It motivates them to learn and encourages them to visit the libraries to grow their knowledge and love of literature.

“It is also one of the few opportunities students have for interschool competition that’s not sport.”

Kapiti Coast District Council, Paper Plus, Moby Dickens Book Shop, Weta Workshop, Friends of the Library and Warehouse Stationery were sponsors of the competition.

Margaret Andrews