Posted February 1, 2010

South Colonie Middle School Students Participate in MathCOUNTS

Sixteen South Colonie students participated in the national MathCOUNTS competition at the GE Global Research Center in Niskayuna in January.

Eight Lisha Kill students and eight Sand Creek students competed in the event that is sponsored annually through a joint effort of the National Society of Professional Engineers (NSPE) and the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM).

More than 100 middle school students representing some 20 local schools took part in the event that is intended to identify the top middle school math talent in the nation. Students in grades 6-8 are eligible to participate in the competition. Top finishers from each local competition have the opportunity to move on to state finals, with hopes of possibly advancing to the regional and national finals.

Although Lisha Kill and Sand Creek finished in 11th and 13th place respectively, there was a great deal to be proud of before the competition even began. The 16 South Colonie ‘Mathletes’ at the competition is the largest number of students the district has even had in the 20-plus years that we have participated in MathCOUNTS. Hopefully, this level of participation marks an indication of things to come and will continue over the years.

Gregory Bearup was the South Colonie team coach. Jackie Frank and Andrea Bourgeois are the Math Club advisors at Lisha Kill. Both teachers are to be commended for their efforts to help their students prepare and for showing their support by attending the competition.

Lisha Kill student participants were Rachel Tenney, Ryan Daley, Liam Rowland, Tristen Jarvis, Meaghan Podlaski, Alex Luizzi, Yohary Fabian and Jacob Pickett. Sand Creek student participants were Letian Zhang, Jack Blanchard, Corey Hendrick, Noah Burke, Julia Bonney, Brandon Ng, Kara Snyder and Ericka Crankshaw.

Additional information regarding MathCOUNTS can be found at www.mathcounts.org.