Lower Campus Math Teams Spring into Success

The Lower Campus Math Teams continued and concluded their blazing run of success with contests this spring: Math Kangaroo, The Caribou Cup, and the Noetic Learning Contest.

Contests typically feature questions that fall outside most standard curricula. However, our use of Singapore Math supports genuine problem-solving where a question is posed without any initially clear means or algorithm to approach it. Some of the most important skills may emerge from dedicated problem-solving—perseverance, grit, flexibility—naturally cultivated from a curious spirit. As students commit to tinkering and trying, they reap the enjoyable benefits of what is possible when approaching a challenge with a sense of emerging confidence in the efficacy of engagement.

In practices this year, students have built structures out of Legos while learning about area, perimeter, and volume, arranged Cuisenaire rods on grid paper to explore symmetry and measurement, and delighted in online games to solve puzzles representing all mathematical concepts. These are fun ways of enjoying math, and the contest results below, affirming their investment this year, include those students who performed with distinction.

If you would like your child to have this opportunity, please contact Tom Keller at [email protected] to learn more about the possibilities. The School will intermittently host Math Boot Camps for drop-ins throughout the summer, so please get in touch with Mr. Keller if you would like to be on a communication list for upcoming dates.

The Caribou Cup: Based upon the total score of six online contests, the international Caribou Cup features interactive games and multiple-choice math problems. Ranks are based on students worldwide, with participants in the contests globally distributed as follows:

• 5,174 students in 2nd Grade
• 16,195 students in 3rd and 4th Grade
• 21,425 students in 5th and 6th Grade

Our Kindergarten and 1st Grade mathletes took the contest, but there is no ranking for those grade levels.

Noetic Learning Contest: This contest is a rigorous assessment of mathematics skills, including extensions of core curricular concepts, logic, and critical thinking challenges. Students who scored in the top 50% in the country received Honorable Mention; those who finished in the Top 10% earned Honor Roll recognition.

Math Kangaroo: Math Kangaroo provides rigorous core mathematics with spatial reasoning and logic challenges. It is taken internationally, though the rankings below are based on national standing.

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