For the past few weeks, students have been challenged to create a formula for how to make a lunchbox more nutritious, while saving money and reducing waste.
Wallacetown School principal Lisa Brady said it was a great initiative for maths weeks and had sparked some great conversations in the classrooms and in the staffroom.
"We hoped that some of the actions we took this week become habits that will continue on after our challenge has finished," she said.
Teacher Miriam McKenzie said financial literacy was the key learning outcome of the challenge and the students were advised to get their families involved in their project.
"At home, they were encouraged to work with their whānau on working out how much their lunch box costs, how to reduce this cost and make it more nutritious," she said.
Zach Miller, 9, partnered with his mother on his project resulting in him winning the whānau challenges.
"It was really fun doing this with my mum ...
I won because I had the cheapest lunchbox that cost $3 and it had two pieces of fruit," he said.
Reducing waste was another part of the challenge.
"During the week we have seen a change in how our students have been filling their lunchboxes," Ms McKenzie said.
"They have been using less packaging, being mindful of what goes into their lunchboxes and what waste they choose to put in the rubbish bins."
