Middle School Students Compete in MathCounts

A group of four middle school students competed in the MathCounts Chapter competition at the University of Hartford on Saturday, February 4. The students who competed in an individual and a team round included Form 2 students: Ryan Jo ’27, Saaya Maru ’27, Daniel Rivera ’27, and Upper Prep student Suri Maru ’29. Jo made it to the Countdown Round and qualified for the state-level competition on March 4th.

The mission of MathCounts is to provide engaging math programs to middle school students of all ability levels to build confidence and improve attitudes about math and problem-solving. Local schools can compete in 500 chapter competitions across the country. Schools can send up to 12 competitors: four competitors who take both team and individual rounds, plus 8 students competing individually. At the recent event at the University of Hartford, approximately 15 area schools competed.

In speaking with sisters Saaya and Suri, both students said they were placed in advanced math for their grade, with Saaya in ninth-grade geometry and Suri in seventh-grade math. Prior to the event, both girls solved many practice problems to hone their skills. Both enjoy math, with Saaya sharing that she likes solving problems and finding solutions, and Suri is drawn to logic puzzles. Rather than get “stuck” on a math problem, both girls can work through a problem and find solutions in their own way.

“In MathCounts, we hadn’t learned yet the way to do things, or we didn’t learn how specifically to do it,” Saaya said. “That allowed us to find our own ways of doing things. Some of them might have been easier or quicker for the math competition. I thought that was really cool.”

Despite the high-stakes competition, Saaya and Suri expressed they were not nervous since they had prepared. “I was the only sixth grader representing KO,” said Suri. “I didn’t think I would make it through, but I thought I would try it out.” Way to embrace new experiences and take risks, Suri!

“It was really cool representing KO, and I’d love to do it again,” Saaya said. “I learned a lot, and I had a lot of fun doing math problems.” 

In the future, both girls intend to pursue careers in science and math. With these strong foundations and confidence, they are well on their way to future success!