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Vernon mathletes test mettle

Fulton Secondary students improve team score at Math Challengers Competition in Vancouver
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Fulton Secondary students Talisa Lutz (from left), Hanna Toporchak, Goldspring Ha, Braden Bird, Bremyn Upsdell-Reddekopp, Buder Hayat and teacher Ryan Thompson tested their math mettle at the Vancouver Provincial Math Challenge April 7. (Photo submitted)

They put on their thinking caps, gave it their all and were rewarded for their efforts.

Six students from Fulton Secondary tested their wits at the Math Challengers Provincial Competition at UBC April 7.

“It was a very good and inspiring time for the students to be at the Math Challengers Competition at UBC in Vancouver. They tried their best, represented Fulton excellently and improved their team score significantly from the regional round,” said Maritza Reilly, Vernon School District communications coordinator.

“This is a testament to all of the hard work and effort that they put in to prepare for this event. The competition was definitely a few steps up from what they saw at the regional round but it was very motivating for them to see so many other keen, talented and passionate math minds from around the province.”

Fulton’s star-studded team saw Grade 8 student Bremyn Upsdell-Reddekopp, who qualified for the individual competition at preliminaries in February, and Buder Hayat, Goldspring Ha, Talisa Lutz, Hanna Toporchak and Braden Bird qualified as one of the Grade 9 teams to compete in Vancouver last weekend.

“We have such a great group of students,” said Ryan Thompson, teacher. “They are working on math problems that are well beyond the Grade 8 and 9 curriculum. Also the support they have shown for one another and how well they work as a team to solve these problem — they should be proud of themselves to be included in this group of students from around the province.”

The program promotes mathematics achievement for Grades 8-10 by challenging students with stimulating and thought-provoking questions, and having school math teams compete with each other at local, regional and provincial tournaments.

Since October, 15 Fulton students have been meeting weekly to work on problems well beyond their curriculum. Throughout this time, the students have been building skills that promote strategic problem solving and have been exposed to complex problems that require creativity and persistence in order to be solved. The preliminary round of the Math Challenger Competition was held in February, in which the Grade 8 and 9 teams participated in.

The competition saw the students participate in two individual contest rounds, then in a team round and finally top ranked students took part in a head-to-head buzz-in question-and-answer session (think Jeopardy), where the overall individual champion was decided. Trophies and awards are given to the top finishers at the tournament.

“The students are already talking about next year,” Reilly said.

Related: Lumby student wins B.C. spelling bee


@VernonNews
parker.crook@vernonmorningstar.com

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