MathCounts is an after-school club coached by Karen Burstein. It is held on Mondays from 2:25-3:25pm in Mrs. Burstein’s room. Anyone may join our Math Team, but keep in mind that the work is supposed to be challenging! The thirty students currently active in our after school MathCounts program recently completed two national competitions— MATHCOUNTS and AMC8. The Top Ten winners in both competitions are listed below.
About MATHCOUNTS
The MATHCOUNTS Competition Series is a national program that provides students the opportunity to compete in live, in-person math contests against and alongside their peers. Created in 1983, it is the longest-running MATHCOUNTS program and is open to all sixth-, seventh- and eighth-grade students.
MATHCOUNTS competitions are provided at four levels: school, chapter, state and national. The MathCounts school competition was held at JGMS on Monday, December 12, 2016. The top 10 competitors continue on to the Chapter competition, to be held on February 8, 2017. Each school can send a team of 4 students plus up to 6 individual competitors. All chapter competitors—whether they are team members or individuals—participate in the individual rounds of the competition; then just the 4 team members participate in the team round. Top students from each Chapter Competition advance to their State Competition, which takes place in March. Finally, the 4 top-scoring individuals and the top team coach in the State Competition advance to the Raytheon MATHCOUNTS National Competition in May. For most of the past twelve years, JGMS has made it to the state level of competition – either through an individual or through our team!
WHAT DOES THE TEST LOOK LIKE? Every MATHCOUNTS competition consists of 4 rounds — Sprint, Target, Team and Countdown Round. Altogether the rounds are designed to take about 3 hours to complete. At chapter or state competitions, a Countdown Round where students compete head-to-head in an oral round may or may not be conducted, but the Countdown Round is an official part of the National Competition.
2017 Team Members: (in alphabetical order)
Leon Z. (8th grade)
Niles L. (7th grade)
Pranav K. (7th grade)
Rohan M. (8th grade)
2017 Individuals: (in alphabetical order)
Aidan C. (7th grade)
Alvin Y. (7th grade)
Eddy Z. (7th grade)
Incheol H. (7th grade)
Matt G. (7th grade)
Vishal B. (7th grade)
This is the third year that Rohan is competing in the Chapter level competition, and this is Eddy’s, Leon’s, and Niles’ second year.
About AMC 8
The AMC 8 is a 25-question, 40-minute, multiple choice examination in middle school mathematics designed to promote the development and enhancement of problem-solving skills. The contest is held in November every year.
Purpose of the AMC 8
The examination provides an opportunity to apply the concepts taught at the junior high level to problems which not only range from easy to difficult but also cover a wide range of applications. Many problems are designed to challenge students and to offer problem solving experiences beyond those provided in most junior high school mathematics classes. High scoring students are invited to participate in the AMC 10 to be held on February 7, 2017.
2016 Top Ten AMC8 Scorers to participate in the AMC10: (in alphabetical order)
Alvin Y. (7th grade)
Eddy Z. (7th grade)
Emily Z. (6th grade)
Leo C. (7th grade)
Leon Z. (8th grade)
Matt G. (7th grade)
Michael P. (7th grade)
Niles L. (7th grade)
Prakhar G. (7th grade)
Rohan M. (8th grade)
This year, Niles L. earned the Young Student Certificate of Achievement for the high score (top 1% nationally) he received during the AMC8 contest held at JGMS.