Mosaic sixth-grader Eric Yang has qualified to participate in the state MATHCOUNTS competition on March 3 at the Lowell Center in Madison.
Eric placed 11th out of more than 150 middle-school students at the MATHCOUNTS competition Feb. 4 at Acuity in Sheboygan.
"I was excited to qualify for the state meet as only a sixth grader!” Eric exclaimed. “I am looking forward to going to the state meet and will be practicing hard until then."
In addition to Eric, the Mosaic team consists of sixth-grader Keith Baka and seventh-graders Kade Byrand and Hannah Staats.
“I was thoroughly impressed with our team’s performance since they had not had as much time to practice as many of the other teams since we’re a new school,” Mosaic math teacher Courtney Kooistra noted of the team, which is under the guidance of Mosaic parent Bob Staats.
The MATHCOUNTS competition consists of four rounds. In the Sprint Round, students have 30 problems to finish in 40 minutes and calculators are not allowed. The Target Round involves eight problems presented to competitors in four pairs with six minutes per pair. Calculators are permitted for these multi-step problems. The Team Round consists of 10 problems that members must work together to solve and calculator use is permitted. The Countdown Round is a fast-paced, oral competition for top-scoring individuals from the Sprint and Target rounds. No calculators may be used and pairs of Mathletes compete against each other and the clock to solve problems.
MATHCOUNTS is a national enrichment club and competition program with the goal to inspire math excellence, confidence, and curiosity in U.S. middle school students. The 2012 Raytheon MATHCOUNTS National Competition will be May 11 in Orlando, Fla.
