Students score high at maths challenge
(L-R) Junior team challenge winners Charlotte Dowell, Nicholas MacCallum and Abigail Rose
(CNS Local Life): More than 100 of Cayman’s secondary school students demonstrated their mathematical ability at the 2018 Minds Inspired Mathematics Challenge held 15 and 16 March. The two-day event, now in its sixth year, tests students’ individual knowledge as well as their ability to collaborate in groups to solve problems.
A total of 112 junior and senior high school students took part, from both private and public schools: Cayman International School, Cayman Prep and High School, Clifton Hunter High School, Grace Christian Academy, Hope Academy, John Gray High School, Layman E. Scott High School and S. Ignatius Catholic High School. The event was held at the University College of the Cayman Islands (UCCI) Sir Vassel Johnson Multipurpose Hall.
In both the junior (years 7-9; grades 6-8) and senior ((Years 10-12; Grades 9-13) categories, the event included team challenges where the students were mixed with participants from other schools to solve complex math problems, explained a press release.
The junior challenge also included a mathematics-based scavenger hunt that led students around UCCI’s campus, requiring they demonstrate teamwork and problem-solving abilities to complete the task.
The Minds Inspired programme is a Dart initiative. “I am encouraged to see an increase in students who look for ways to challenge themselves academically,” said Dart CEO Mark VanDevelde. “This event provides them with an opportunity to demonstrate their math abilities in a competitive environment – both individually and in teams. Since Minds Inspired was founded, its mission has been to encourage more of Cayman’s students to challenge themselves through the STEM disciplines – and as we celebrate our sixth Maths Challenge, it is clear that mission is being fulfilled.”
In the junior challenge, overall champion Sky Wolfe from Hope Academy also took home the year 8 award. The year 7 and year 9 awards went to Tabitha Hawkins and Oliver Johns, respectively, both of Cayman International School. St Ignatius Catholic School won the school team event – the math scavenger hunt.
The junior mixed team winners were Abigail Rose from John Gray High School, Charlotte Dowell from Clifton Hunter High School and Nicholas McCallum from Cayman Prep and High School.
In the senior challenge, Alex Cummer from Cayman International School was named overall champion and year 12 winner. Selina Zhu and Charlotte Hodkin of Cayman Prep and High School took the year 11 and year 13 awards, respectively.
The winning mixed team comprised Zhu, Sadie Finch from Cayman International School and Alwayne Allen of John Gray High School.
The overall junior and senior champions were each awarded $200 Camana Bay gift cards and the honour of having their names permanently affixed to the Mathematics Challenge trophy; year group winners received $100 gift cards and medals; team challenge winners received $50 gift cards and medals. St Ignatius Catholic School received robotics kits for winning the scavenger hunt.
Glenda McTaggart, Dart education programmes manager, said of the event: “(T)he level of engagement with the Maths Challenge increases every year. It is now an official part of math teachers’ annual planning, and students are encouraged to start their preparation early by doing past exam papers and practice questions. I am proud of the Maths Challenge’s popularity and the level of enthusiasm participants have for competitive mathematics.”
For more information, go to the Minds Inspired website
Category: Education, High School, Schools
