Source: TheNewsTribune.com (Original Article)
About 400 high school students from all over Western Washington gathered Saturday, Jan. 30, at Blaine Middle School to put on a show of their mathematical wizardry.
The students, who came from 36 high schools, were part of the Northwest Math Championship, which tested their mastery of algebra, geometry, trigonometry and logic problems.
Because the tests were timed, students had little more than a minute to solve problems that would take a high school math teacher 10 to 15 minutes, said Mike Dahl, an event coordinator and math teacher at Blaine High School who helped prepare the tests.
“It’s been impressive,” Dahl said. “It’s been phenomenal. I can do all the problems, but they’re hard. This is definitely not your average group of kids.”
Blaine School District Superintendent Ron Spanjer said the event is a good way to showcase abilities that don’t often command attention or respect.
“As educators, coaches and parents, we understand today’s activities represent the culmination of literally hundreds of hours of practice,” Spanjer said. “Each student here today is worthy of high praise and acknowledgment.”
For Redmond High School junior Arjun Narayanan, a veteran of mathematics competitions, a highlight of this year’s event being able to participate with friends.
Narayanan teamed with classmates Chris Lim, Ben Morrison and Sam Keller to take home the second place award in the 11th and 12th grade division.
For Lim, the success was welcomed but not entirely expected, he said.
“I found out Friday afternoon that I was going to participate,” Lim said.
RESULTS
Individual 11th-/12th-graders
1. David Lien, Northlake High School
2. Sam Keller, Redmond High School
3. Evan Shieh, Skyline High School
Individual 9th-/10th-graders
1. Emily Zhang, Newport High School
2. Kathleen Zhou, Interlake cheap domstic flights from Townsville to Wagga Wagga High School
3. Nat Mayer, Lakeside High School
Team …continue reading