Five enthusiastic teams with parent supporters headed north to Whangarei to pit their skills against Northland’s sharpest mathematical minds in the annual Northland Mathex competition. As the teacher at the venue, I thought the school’s insistence on a medical kit, slightly over the top. However, I soon came to see the logic behind it. Fortunately, I did not have to use our kit but I did see a student from another school, carried from the floor of Whangarei Boy’s College auditorium with a bent and bleeding foot. I also observed a spectacular collision, although the students walked away with no ill effects. more..