Nine IUSD middle school students from Jeffrey Trail, Rancho San Joaquin and Sierra Vista placed in the top 25 percent of the California MathCounts competition with Rancho’s Feodor A. Yevtushenko taking first place! As a result of this outstanding performance, Rancho San Joaquin math teacher Sarah Armstrong has been selected as the coach for the California MathCounts team and will accompany the top four students in the state to the national competition in Washington D.C., May 7-10.
These outstanding students include:
Feodor A Yevtushenko, Rancho San Joaquin Middle School
Vedanth Narsina, Jeffrey Trail Middle School
Eric Zhu, Rancho San Joaquin Middle School
Bowen Wu, Sierra Vista Middle School
Michael C Jian, Rancho San Joaquin Middle School
Timothy Chen, Rancho San Joaquin Middle School
Virat Varada, Sierra Vista Middle School
Mark Menaker, Rancho San Joaquin Middle School
Alex Y Wang, Sierra Vista Middle School
Feodor is the first student from IUSD to advance to the MathCounts Nationals since 2012.
MathCounts is an academic enrichment program that encourages middle school students of all ability levels to find their own path to math success. Established in 1983 by the National Society of Professional Engineers, the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, and others, MathCounts’ goal is to increase middle school interest in mathematics. Students who participate build confidence and improve attitudes about math and problem solving.
MathCounts curriculum is offered to students as either an elective or through after school practice. Eventually, students have the opportunity to compete in a series of competitions, starting at the school site level, and can then advance to regional, state, and even national levels.
There are four different rounds that make up a competition. The first is the sprint round, which focuses on speed and accuracy. Second is a target round that requires problem-solving and mathematical reasoning. Third is a team round, which tests students’ skills on collaborative math group work, and finally, the fourth round is complete with a countdown round that focuses on speed and accuracy. However, this round is optional at the school, county, and state levels.
Good luck at nationals Feodor and Coach Armstrong – bring home another win!