It was only a small wave of the hand but it brought deafening screams of excitement from hundreds of Tauranga Intermediate children. NZ Idol winner Ben Lummis waved through the window of his limo as he pulled inside the gates of the school yesterday. His visit was just part of a massiveprize for the intermediate school after beating 2300 other schools in a TV2 Studio 2 competition with Calci-Yum. Schools throughout the nation had registered to be part of the three-week lolly mix competition and had to answer daily questions. Of the many schools that entered, three were randomly chosen to dress an 80cm skeleton in one-and-a-half days, including Tauranga Intermediate. Their creation TIS BOP - shortened from Tauranga Intermediate School Bay of Plenty - won them the $10,000 prize and a visit from Ben Lummis, Idol runner-up, Michael Murphy, and host Dayna, all of whom then helped judge the school's own mini idol. New Zealand Idol judge Paul Ellis selected Tauranga Intermediate's TIS BOP over the other two finalists. Six Tauranga Intermediate art students were involved in the creation. One student, Danielle Newton 13, said she ate lots of the sponsor's products to help decorate the skeleton. "But it's hard to believe we won." Idol host Dominic Bowden lead the Tauranga Intermediate Idol show. He let students ask questions before the competition started. The crowd was pleased to hear that Michael was still single and were keen for principal Brian Diver to adopt the Lummis haircut. Ben Lummis said that he was pleased with the warm welcome he received and was looking forward to seeing the school's talent. "It's a great school and I'm looking for a captivating performance," he said. Seven student idols preformed before an animated school and the television cameras. Georgina Yates, 13 took out the title and won a mountain bike after singing and playing the guitar to a song she had written herself. Dayna said it gave her tingles listening to Georgina's performance. Art teacher Linda Balme said the school was excited about winning the competition and in no hurry to spend the money. "It's for art. Maybe we will get digital cameras or more art teachers."
