Picture this: on a cold Saturday morning, 150 middle school students gather to challenge each other in a local math competition. A math teacher’s dream? Not at all, this is the reality of the nationwide Mathcounts program. Now in its 33rd year, MATHCOUNTS is a national enrichment, club and competition program that promotes middle school mathematics achievement by providing creative problems that promote critical thinking skills. MATHCOUNTS is one of the country’s largest and most successful educational partnerships involving volunteers, educators, industry sponsors and students. Here at Unquowa, Mathcounts has been a part of the mathematics curriculum since 1991.

After months of preparation, ten of our very talented students assembled at Fairfield University on February 6 for their one opportunity to compete against other local teams at the Mathcounts Chapter competition. After participating in two individual events and one team event, the Unquowa team surpassed 6 others to finish 14th. Most of the schools we are competing against are drawing from a much larger pool of students; so achieving this standing is a significant accomplishment.

It is a pleasure to work with these talented and enthusiastic students. Congratulations!