The mere mention of the word “math” has the potential to intimidate many people, but certainly not the more than 300 Huntington High School students who participated in the nationwide MathCon online competition.
A non-profit organization, MathCON sponsors a two part competition for students in grades 5-12. Since 2008, the contest has drawn more than 200,000 entries from across the country. Count Huntington UFSD among this group.
“This year, over 50,000 students competed from over 43 states with only one percent advancing to the final round of the competition,” said Kathleen Aufiero, Huntington UFSD’s chairperson of mathematics, 7-12. “We are very proud that we had three students that were invited to the finals and six students that were recognized for their achievement and invited to join a wait list for the final competition.”
Huntington High School seniors Ryan Hoffmann, Charles Sze and Mathew Hearl were all invited to participate in the MathCON finals in Chicago next month. Huntington students recognized for their high achievement included sophomore Bryan Wong and seniors Arashdeep Singh, Matthew Quinn, Noah Morris, Katherine Burton and Haley Mortell.
“The accomplishments of these students is truly inspiring,” Mrs. Aufiero said. “Congratulations to all of the students who participated. We look forward to expanding this competition in the future.”
Huntington students proved once again they can hold their own with anyone academically and every other way. They are also always “up” for a challenge.
“MathCON gives us the unique opportunity to engage students in the joy of math at a young age,” said Ayhan Caputlu, the organization’s director. “The competition encourages students from all over the nation to engage in math now, preparing them for a life and career as future innovators in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. It does this by making math both competitive and rewarding, but also fun and interesting.”