Who hasn’t seen a kindergartener with a backpack so big it’s almost dragging on the ground.

Four kindies at Our Lady of the Rosary Catholic Primary School Fairfield have taken matters into their own hands and designed and then made a 3-D model of a school bag that’s much easier on their little backs.

Kindy student Bryan Yeung’s impressive 2-D school bag design.

Cindy Wang, Bryan Yeung, Chandler Tran and Hannah Ly were among four teams from Our Lady who have wowed the judges of a prestigious mathematical competition with their ingenuity.

The Investigating with Mathematics Competition, run by the Mathematical Association of NSW (MANSW), asks students in Kindergarten to Year 12 to come up with a solution to a real-life problem using maths.

Teams in Kindergarten, Year 1, Year 2 and Year 6 at Our Lady placed first in the state competition and then Kindergarten and Year 1 went on to come first in Australia, with Year 2 and 6 receiving Highly Commended Awards.

“We are very proud of our students and teachers,” school principal, Jackie Vella, said.

Bryan and Hannah said winning made them “happy.”

Dr Christine Mae, Sydney Catholic Schools’ (SCS) K-12 Mathematics and Numeracy Education Officer, said: “It is exciting to see that we have such young minds engaging in high levels of challenge by investigating real-world problems in and around the school.”

“I’m the smartest in the family,” claims kindy student, Chandler Tran. “I’ve learnt how to count up to septillion!”

WHAT THEY INVESTIGATED

Kindergarten
Using a 2-D plan, Cindy Wang, Bryan Yeung, Chandler Tran and Hannah Ly …