A team of “mathletes” from Orange Grove Middle School won the Southern Arizona Chapter MATHCOUNTS competition, and will move on to the state competition.
Members of the winning team are Nathan Kuo, Simon Rubin-Toles, Noah Wellman, Alexandra Zega and coach Chris Newton.
The second- and third-place teams were from BASIS Tucson North and The Gregory School, respectively.
The top individual score was by Sai Konkimalla of BASIS Oro Valley, followed by Brycklen Arnold of Sonoran Science Academy in second place and Nathan Kuo of Orange Grove Middle School in third place.
In all, 34 students from 12 local schools advanced to the state-level MATHCOUNTS Competition, which will be held March 24 in Phoenix.
Tucson-area schools that will be represented at state include: Orange Grove Middle School, BASIS Tucson North, The Gregory School, BASIS Oro Valley, Sonoran Science Academy, Coronado K-8 School, Pusch Ridge Christian Academy, Emily Gray Junior High School, Sonoran Science Academy on Broadway, Tucson Hebrew Academy, Old Vail Middle School and Amphitheater Middle School.
Teachers and students have been preparing for the competition since the fall. Students compete individually and as teams in written and fast-paced oral matches.
Subjects include algebra, probability, statistics and geometry.
Winners of the state competition will advance to the national MATHCOUNTS Competition to be held in May in Washington, D.C.
Local preschooler has award-winning smile
Mikey Armstrong, a preschooler at Marjorie W. Estes Elementary School, was chosen from hundreds of students all across the country for the Inter-State Studio’s Smile of the Year 1st Prize in the Elementary Division, which earned him a Nintendo Switch and a framed portrait of his winning photograph.
Hebrew academy hosts STEM Festival
Tucson Hebrew Academy will host Southern Arizona’s largest STEM festival. Tucsonans will have the opportunity to interact with Tucson Ariel Photography drones, the UA College of Engineering, the Marine Awareness & Conservation Society and 50 more exhibitors from around Southern Arizona. The event will be at Tucson Hebrew Academy’s campus at 3888 E. River Road, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., on Sunday, March 18.
