How many even numbers between one and 101 are multiples of three?
A Spofford Pond School "mathlete" would consider that question a cinch. It is a sample from a Math Olympiad test, which Spofford "mathletes," as Math Olympiad team members call themselves, have been training for all year.
As the school year and Math Olympiad program come to an end, Boxford students have emerged with top marks in the nationwide math competition.
Under the guidance of Beth Yando, math instructional support specialist for the Boxford Schools, 66 students in fourth through sixth grade took a series of five monthly math tests, each with five questions, from November to March.
Out of the nearly 150,000 students worldwide who participated in the Math Olympiad program this year, the Spofford sixth-grade team scored in the top 10 percent in their division and were awarded a plaque for Highest Team Achievement, said Yando.
Math Olympiad students are selected for the team by Yando because they've shown a natural interest in math in the classroom, she said. The mathletes meet weekly with Yando during the school year to prepare for the tests.
The tests contain "higher level" problems, above and beyond what is covered in regular math classes, said Yando, and students have 30 minutes to complete each test.
Math Olympiad tests cover a myriad of math skills, from word problems, patterns and algebra to number sense and computation, geometry, probability and measurement.
The Bellmore, N.Y.-based Math Olympiad program was created in 1977 by Dr. George Lenchner, an internationally known math educator. The Math Olympiads went public in 1979, and last year 150,000 students from 5,000 teams worldwide participated in the olympiads. All 50 U.S. states and 25 foreign countries were represented.
Mathletes bring home the gold
Spofford Pond Math Olympiad team members fared as follows:
Two Spofford sixth-graders, Jack Wallace and Juliana Kostas, were each awarded a gold pin, given only to those in the top 2 percent of Math Olympiad scores. Jack and Juliana had scores of 21 out of 25 possible points.
Silver pins (awarded to those in the 90th to 97th percentiles) were given to sixth-graders Elizabeth Tyler, Nathan Gibeley, Alexander Lemaire, Sravan Reddy, Jessica Hebb and Garrett Boseck.
Embroidered felt patches (awarded to those in the top 50 percent of all the participants) were awarded to fourth-graders Jack Mirabito (who also received a trophy for being the fourth-grade high scorer), Chase Zernich, Megan Lemaire and Matthew Ferrante; fifth-graders Aidan Fowler and Erin Murphy (who also received trophies for being the fifth-grade high scorers), Lilias Miller, Sam Bart, Joshua Desmond, Rebecca Costa, Greg Dougherty, Cody Hesse, Megan Richards, Lauren Drohosky, Nastata Greenberg, Joshua Katz, Michael Dik, Claire Faddis, Alex Galarneau, Paige Boucher, Jasmin Laaksonen and Jet Hoxa; sixth-graders Jack Wallace, Juliana Kostas, Elizabeth Tyler, Nathan Gibeley, Alexander Lemaire, Sravan Reddy, Jessica Hebb, Garrett Boseck, Rita Ding, Sam Antczak, Jessica Rauseo, Lindsay Hall, Emily Neuenhaus, Connor Yako, Taylor Teed, Olivia Messenger, Dana Balek, Joanna Fischer, Kelsey McAlarney, Justine Ferrara, Emma Hibbard, Beth Defossez and Cord Belding.
Other students participating in Math Olympiad this year included:
Fourth-graders Shelby Yeomas, Elana Epstein, Evan Shear, Camden Vaillancourt, Michelle Robidoux, Karli Paci, Brooke Warshafsky, Andrea Scarfo, Anne Messenger, Colin Cormier, Maya Volpacchio and Samantha Bowden.
Fifth-graders John Jacoby, Roman Pellegrino, Kyle Taggert, Davis McVay, Tom Philps, Peter Mandragouras and Robin Morehouse.
Sixth-graders Natasha Murray and Monica Manning.
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Did you know?
Boxford has an online math league open to any second- through sixth-grade student. Students complete practice math tests and meet three times a year. For more information or to sign up for next year, contact the offices at Cole Elementary or Spofford Pond School.
