MSMS Math Outreach held its annual Math Superstars contest on Oct. 24, providing a math problem-solving contest for students in third grade through sixth grade.
The contest was organized by Math Outreach class, a Special Topics in Mathematics class, led by teacher Lauren Zarandona.
Zarandona said the math contests are written and edited each year to account for the material they want to emphasize.
“Each year we edit [Math Superstars] to make sure the kids who come can be successful, [but also] something that’s enriching and challenging,” Zarandona said.
The students began preparing for Math Superstars in August. Senior Eduardo Gonzalez-Orozco oversaw the contest for third grade, senior Julie Yang oversaw fourth and fifth and senior Anthony Nguyen oversaw sixth.
Zarandona also said the participants did other math brain teasers and activities.
“The third graders made stomp rockets and a spaghetti tower, the fourth and fifth graders did a lock box and sixth graders did an index card tower and a cryptography activity,” she said.
Yang said she enjoyed being able to give the children an opportunity they may not have had otherwise.
“I have always enjoyed volunteering, especially for such an event that allows us to give the same opportunity to kids that may not have seen this type of collaboration and math puzzles,” she said.
Junior Angelina Tan said she enjoyed having a group of kids to teach.
“I definitely felt a sense of responsibility, but it wasn’t overwhelming,” she said. “I really enjoyed being able to talk to the kids and getting to listen to their thought processes while they worked problems together.”
Junior volunteer John Miller said this event gave him a glimpse into his desired career field.
“Volunteering for Math Superstars was a really nice experience, and I enjoyed it a lot,” he said. “I want to be a math teacher, and it felt like a step in the right direction. Overall, it was a great experience, and I hope to do it again next year.”
