Britton Middle School’s Math Department staff is working hard to
address the needs of the school’s diverse population by offering
support and exposure to different types of mathematics.
Britton Middle School’s Math Department staff is working hard to address the needs of the school’s diverse population by offering support and exposure to different types of mathematics. Last school year, MathCounts Club was added to the already successful competition program to encourage all students to explore math with fun activities. This year, MathCounts is also incorporated into the curriculum to strengthen students’ critical thinking skills. This year, 32 students are in the club as well as the competition challenges. MathCounts allows eight to compete at the chapter level, and four at the state level if the team comes in first or second place.
Eighth-graders Mark Holmstrom, Jingyi Wei, Moira Foster, Jordan Cambra, Juliet Olsen, and seventh-graders James Gabbard, Adarsh Cherra, and Tara McLaughlin took first place as a team in the MathCounts Monterey Bay Chapter competition in February. Holmstrom took first place as an Individual and the quick thinking Gabbard took first place in the Countdown Round, a fast-paced competition where students try and get the correct answer first. Holmstrom was awarded a perfect score on the American Math Competition for eighth-graders, with Jingyi Wei coming in second and Juliet Olsen coming in third. Holmstrom went on to take the American Math Competition for 10th-graders. Holmstrom and Gabbard also did well on the challenging in the Bay Area Mathematical Olympiad. Holmstrom, Gabbard, Ryan Mitchell, Sebastian Carrillo, Tyler Acosta, Nick Garcia, and sixth-grader Branden Garcia went to Stanford University to participate in the intense Math League competition. Holmstrom scored well enough to participate in the Countdown Round. Holmstrom, Gabbard, Wei and Foster went on to compete in the MathCounts State Finals, receiving impressive scores in each category.
