At this week’s Abington School Board meeting, Dr. Denise Mendez, Coordinator of Mathematics and Elementary Science, presented our mathematics award winners with School Board President Raymond McGarry, Esquire. She commented that during this school year, Abington elementary, junior, and senior high school students participated and excelled in a variety of county, state, national, and international mathematics competitions. Recognition of the senior high school winners took place as part of an earlier awards ceremony at the school. Last night, we honored award-winning students from the elementary and junior high schools.
The 24 Challenge Tournament is a regional competition sponsored by the Montgomery County Intermediate Unit. Students are challenged to solve for the number “24” using any of the four operations – addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division – with a set of four numbers given to them. The Pennsylvania Statistics Poster Competition is an annual statewide contest where students design creative posters that must include at least two types of graphs to display the answer to an interesting question. This year, there were 29 award winning posters at the elementary school level statewide; Abington students claimed 24 of the 29 awards! The Pennsylvania Mathematics League Contest is a statewide competition where students answer questions from different areas of mathematics. The Math Fax Competition is a national competition that consists of a series of written tests administered by grade level during the school year. The Atlantic-Pacific Mathematics Competition is a national competition that consists of a series of six tests for junior high students that focus on Pre-Algebra, Algebra, and Geometry. The Mathematical Olympiad is an international competition consisting of five tests given at monthly intervals from November to March. Each test includes five problems. The awards system recognizes team and individual accomplishments with three types of team awards: the “Highest Team Achievement” award for teams whose scores are in the top 10% of all participating teams; a “Certificate of High Achievement” for teams whose scores fall within the next 10% of all teams; and a “Certificate of Meritorious Achievement” for teams that finish in the highest 20% of the team scores. In the individual awards category, Gold Pins are awarded to students who finish in the top 2 percent. Silver Pins are awarded to students finishing in the next 8%, and an embroidered patch is given to those students scoring at the top 50%. The most prestigious individual award in this competition is the George Lenchner Award, a medallion, named for the founder of the competition, and presented to students who achieve a perfect score for the entire year; this honor is earned by fewer than 1/3 of 1 percent of all participants! This year Abington has two winners in this category!
At Abington Junior High School the team of Mairead Dicesari, Emma McGinley, and Joy Mwaria participated in the 24 Challenge Competition; Mairead Dicesari earned a Silver Medal. In the Pennsylvania Mathematics League Competition, the Abington Junior High Grade 7 team finished First Place in Montgomery County and received an engraved plaque; Representing the Grade 7 team were students Miles Miltenberger and Katelyn Lee who both placed fourth in Montgomery County. In the Atlantic-Pacific Mathematics Competition, the Abington Junior High School team placed second in the division. Receiving the commemorative plaque on behalf of the team last night was the high scorer, Matthew Rosen. In the Mathematical Olympiad, the Junior High School Grade 7 team earned a Meritorious Achievement Certificate.
At Copper Beech Elementary School, the Grade 6 team received the High Team Achievement Certificate in the Mathematical Olympiad, In the Pennsylvania Statistics Poster Competition, Declan Doyle earned the Top Honorable Mention Certificate for the poster titled “Do Teachers Really Have Favorites?” Zoe Wamsher earned Second Place with the poster titled “Fame or Fam?” and received a certificate and a check for $72.
At Highland Elementary School, in the MATH FAX competition, Samantha Gill was awarded a Certificate for Fourth Place in the Division. In the Mathematical Olympiad, the Grade 6 team received the High Team Achievement Certificate. In the Pennsylvania Statistics Poster Competition, Brandon Bacordo and Tristan Bacordo earned an Honorable Mention Certificate for their poster titled “Your Birthday Rocks!”
At McKinley Elementary School, in the Mathematical Olympiad, the Grade 4 team received a Certificate of Meritorious Achievement. Additionally, the Grade 6 team received the Highest Team Achievement Plaque. Individually, Brian Thai, Vasily Osipov, and Iris Winegrad scored in the top 2% worldwide and received the Math Olympiad Gold Pin. In the Pennsylvania Statistics Poster Competition, Matthew Dickerson earned an Honorable Mention Certificate for the poster titled “Second Grade Smiles!” Also in the Pennsylvania Statistics Poster Competition, Andria Hatton won the Second Place Award for the poster titled “Cheesy and Sweet, Which Would You Like To Eat?” and earned a certificate and a check for $72.
At Overlook Elementary School, in the Mathematical Olympiad, the Grade 6 team received the Highest Team Achievement Plaque awarded to teams scoring in the highest 10% worldwide. Scoring in the top 2% worldwide and receiving Gold Pins were Layne Henke, Keegan O’Donnell, Jeremy Slotter, and Benjamin Suit. In the Pennsylvania Statistics Poster Competition, winning an Honorable Mention Certificate for the poster titled “The Breakfast Club” was Aisling Rose Scanlon. Also, Madeline Krassner won a First Place Award for the poster titled “Can You Really Improve Your Chances of Winning Rock-Paper-Scissors?” and received a First Place Certificate and a check for $96. Madeline’s poster also has the distinction of earning the Second Place national prize! She was awarded the American Statistical Association plaque and a check for $200!
At Roslyn Elementary School, in the Mathematical Olympiad, the Grade 6 team earned a Certificate of High Achievement. Owen Davis scored in the top 2% worldwide and received a Gold Pin. In the Pennsylvania Statistics Poster Competition, Alex Bruce was awarded an Honorable Mention Certificate for the poster, “Can I Predict the Lottery Based on the Past Winning Numbers?” Elida Garcia was awarded an Honorable Mention Certificate for the poster “Favorite Planets.” Elida Garcia and Alexandra Wolf were awarded an Honorable Mention Certificate for their poster “What is Your Dream House?” Jolene Frey earned an Honorable Mention Certificate for the poster “Tardiness – What’s Your Thought?” Ciani Kittrels earned an Honorable Mention Certificate for the poster “What Beat Moves Your Feet?” Aeryn Gibbons won a Third Place Certificate and a check for $48 for the poster titled “Do People Still Say Thank You?” Aeryn’s poster has the distinction of also winning the American Statistical Association Third Place national prize; she was awarded the American Statistical Association plaque and a check for $100!
At Rydal Elementary School, students in grades 4, 5, and 6 participated in the 24 Challenge Competition. Representing grades 4 and 5 were Ciara Fall, Zachary Goldin, Tymir Jones, and Taara Verma. Representing grade 6 were David Boches, Talitha Cheng, Daniel Moynihan, and Michael Yakymiv. Winning a Bronze Medal for Honorable Mention were Zachary Goldin for grades 4 & 5, and Talitha Cheng for grade 6. Semi-Finalists, winning Silver Medals, were Ciara Fall – grades 4 & 5, and David Boches – grade 6. In the Mathematical Olympiad, the Grade 6 team was awarded a Highest Team Achievement Plaque. In addition, receiving Gold Pins for scores in the top 2% worldwide were Talitha Cheng, Jacob Katz, Jessica Markov, and Darren Mo. The Mathematical Olympiad Lenchner Medallion was awarded to Jacob Katz. In the Pennsylvania Statistics Poster Competition five students won Honorable Mention Certificates for their posters: Jessica Chacko for the poster “Time To Tear,” Max Hayes for the poster “Why Should You Collect Rookie Cards?,” Alexander Hrynko for the poster “The Warm Up,” Elena Jadach for the poster “What We See When We Watch TV,” and John Jadach for the poster “Pepperoni Pizza Pie Chart.” Three students won Honorable Mention Certificates for their posters: Michael Lyou for “Pollution, Pollution, We Need a Solution!,” Michael Moynihan for “Does Winning the Heisman Trophy Mean NFL Success?,” and Jessica Schneider for “Brain Waves.” Braden Delgado was awarded a Fourth Place Certificate and a check for $24 for the poster, “Pennsylvania’s Deer.” Talitha Cheng received a First Place Award Certificate and a check for $96 in for the poster “School ≠ SAT Scores.”
At Willow Hill Elementary School, in the Mathematical Olympiad, the Grade 6 team received the Highest Team Achievement Plaque – awarded to teams scoring in the highest 10% worldwide. Individually, Alexander Frascone and Caleb Harrison scored in the top 2% worldwide and received Gold Pins. In addition, the Lenchner Medallion, which is awarded for a perfect score, was awarded to Alexander Frascone! In the Pennsylvania Statistics Poster Competition Sarah Lyles won a Third Place Award, consisting of a certificate and a check for $48 for the poster titled “Extinction Soup.”
Dr. Mendez concluded the program at the Board meeting by recognizing and thanking everyone in our community: parents, family members, neighbors, and friends who assist in developing our outstanding students. She also thanked the Board of School Directors, Superintendent, Director of Curriculum and principals for continuing to support the mathematics competitions each year. A number of people in the school communities were recognized for the time and effort given to working with students as they participated in the various competitions; these include the Junior High Mathematics Chair and Junior High School math team coaches, the Elementary Curriculum Specialists, teachers, Instructional Aides, classroom volunteers, and others.