The 2019 East and South Auckland Year 9 Readers Cup took place at Alfriston College on June 26. Sancta Maria College was represented by five students – Jaiden Beltran, David Locke, Sarah McCormick, Hyejin Park and Trinity Tuineau. These students were chosen earlier in the term after a tie-breaker, demonstrating their reading skills through answering a series of questions based on two novels and two short stories.
Twelve schools competed for the trophy. These were Alfriston, Dilworth, Glendowie, Howick, James Cook, Macleans, One Tree Hill, Ormiston Junior, Pakuranga, Sacred Heart, Selwyn, and Sancta Maria. The host school, Alfriston College, were the reigning champions.
The Readers Cup competition has been held for several years, and this is the second year Sancta Maria College has competed.
The competition consisted of six rounds, one for each of the books we had read in advance: The Half-Life of Ryan Davis, The Dog Runner, Whatshisface, Night Vision, Dawn Raid, and Frogkisser.
At the end of the fourth round, the scores were very close, with Glendowie leading. They kept up the hard work and effort and made sure their points were consistent. They made their school proud by finishing off the competition with 57 points, and a one point win over Sacred Heart and Pakuranga who tied for 2nd. Sancta Maria College finished honourably in the middle of the field.
Overall, it was a wonderful experience, making us think hard and trying to recall what we had read, while still enjoying ourselves. We thank Mrs O’Rorke for putting this together so that we could have this opportunity. We would encourage all Year 8s to give it a go next year.
Sarah McCormick
