Brainfinity handed out awards to the teams that took the first three places in the finals for the 6^th grade category held on Saturday, June 6 in Belgrade.

After the official announcement of the winner in the Brainfinity finals, the jury noticed the points for the 6^th grade category were not calculated correctly, so after the revision, it was decided the first place was to be shared by BunOgLAvci and Genijalci team, the second place was to be shared by Zeleni parni radijatori and Fantomi team, whereas the team named Sremačka družina took the third place.

Brainfinity organized a ceremony to present the medals and awards of the winning teams. We visited the BunOgLAvci team in Kruševac and the Zeleni parni radijatori team in Niš, whereas Genijalci and Fantomi were our guests at Savremena Gimnazija.

On Tuesday, June 16, Brainfinity headed to Kruševac to visit Elementary School Vuk Karadžić, where this year’s winning team in the 6^th grade category, BunOgLAvci, comes from.

Although we arrived early, BunOgLAvci, their teacher-mentor and principal were already impatiently waiting for us at the school gate, and we immediately asked about their impressions from the finals.

“The first challenge was harder, and the second one was more time-consuming”, said one of the competitors, Atanasije Matić, whereas his teammate Ognjen Đurić said they were slightly nervous because they had to present their solutions to the jury.

Professor Ivan Anić, the creative mind behind Brainfinity, presented gold medals to Bogdan, Ognjen, Lav and Atanasije, as well as tablets, sweet boxes and other gifts, whereas their teacher Dragana could not hide her excitement because three of her teams managed to get into the finals of this year’s Brainfinity, and BunOgLAvci even won the first place.

“My favorite part as a teacher was the close collaboration with children. The teacher-student barriers were down. We functioned as a team of peers, because each of us worked toward the same goal. The Brainfinity competition is interesting, fresh and unique”, said Dragana Marić Peruničić, mentor of the winning team, BunOgLAvci.

After we presented the well-deserved awards to the winners in the category of the 6^th grade, we continued our journey to Niš and Elementary School Vožd Karađorđe to present silver medals and gifts to the runners-up, Zeleni parni radijatori team and their teacher Radoje Košanin, who prepared a warm welcome for us.

“We enjoyed last year’s Brainfinity which is why we applied this year as well. The competition is very casual, so we felt no pressure and no nervousness” said Tamara Ivković, member of the Zeleni parni radijatori team.

Her teacher, Radoje Košanin revealed that he prepared his students for Brainfinity in math classes.

“I’ve been using this method for 15 years, so my students could learn everything they need both for mathematics and other school subjects through problem solving. Grades are a less important matter. What matters is that children explore, find information, cite sources and verify them in class” said Professor Košanin, emphasizing that school exists solely to prepare children for life.

Having presented the medals and gifts to the teams from Kruševac and Niš, we invited our teams from Belgrade to visit Savremena Gimnazija on Thursday, June 16 to receive their awards.

The Genijalci team from Elementary School Danilo Kiš in Voždovac won the gold medal, as well as tablets, sweet boxes, books and vouchers, whereas the runners-up Fantomi from Elementary School Dragan Lukić located in Bežanijska kosa won the silver medal and gifts.

“I loved the fact we used technology because the implementation of information technologies is one of the most important skills nowadays. We need to be knowledgeable about technology” said Sonja Mihailović, member of Genijalci, whereas other members of her team shared they were very happy with the organizational skills they utilized in Brainfinity.

Members of the other Belgrade team, Fantomi, also had only nice things to say about Brainfinity.

“Team work and effort is what helped us achieve success” said Katarina Dević, member of the Fantomi team whose members, as they told us, particularly enjoy research challenges.

We also talked to the mentors of these two teams who were awarded membership in the Institute for Contemporary Education, while the children enjoyed their tour of Savremena Gimnazija, and saw why this high school is rightly considered the most state-of-the-art Cambridge school in the region.

“The children are very proud and happy about their awards, but above all, they are very proud of participating in such a unique and interesting competition which led them to new knowledge and skills” said the mentor of the Genijalci team, Svetlana Savović adding: “Everything here is new and different. The students are happy, but so are we, the teachers, because the children realized they could do much more in a short time that they ever thought they could.”

“This is a very special competition that requires new skills, good thinking, and problem solving, which is something our children desperately need. Participating in Brainfinity and winning awards matters to students, and it also has a positive impact on their confidence” said Tanja Olear Gojić, mentor of the Fantomi team, adding that Brainfinity helps children to pay attention to things that are vitally important and useful.

Once again, we would like to congratulate all teams on their results.

Brainfinity will continue to organize interesting and engaging activities during summer. Follow our website and social media for updates.