MSMS Math Outreach hosted its annual Math Superstars event on Nov. 7, inviting elementary students from local schools to participate. The event intends to instill a passion for math and cooperability in students, especially those from underprivileged areas.
Math Outreach President Drew Dowdy said Math Outreach members created the activities students participated in and wanted to show a unique way to see math.
“When it came time to assign roles for the day of Math Superstars, everything just sort of fell into place given all the work we had put in previously,” Dowdy said. “We also had many volunteers who were not members of Math Outreach that did a great job leading groups of kids through activities.”
One of those volunteers, junior Eduardo Gonzalez-Orozco, said the activities were important for developing a passion with kids.
“All the activities inspired the students and gave little kids an idea of what math can be,” Gonzalez-Orozco said.
MSMS math teacher and Math Outreach Sponsor Lauren Zarandona said an important goal of the event was to reach underprivileged students.
“We had two schools from Leflore Country — which is in the Delta — come, and I think it was great for those students because they probably don’t experience something like this enough,” Zarandona said.
One feature of this goal was that it allowed students of any background to learn, interact and connect with one another.
“When we get the schools here, we form groups in such a way that students are not with other students from their school,” Zarandona said. “We do that to desegregate because our schools tend to be segregated by income and race already.”
In addition, all schools received at least one award or recognition for performing well in an activity or test.
At the end of the event, Dowdy said he was glad to see the students participating in activities, connecting with students from other schools and growing an appreciation for learning and math.
“The students were all incredible. I was very happy to see that everyone here was excited,” Dowdy said. “Hopefully, that excitement will encourage kids to dive deeper into math and make the most of it.”