Nurture an Open Mind: Lower School Math Team Thinks Outside the Box

Enrich. Energize. Excite. These are the sacred values of the Mathematical Olympiads for Elementary and Middle Schools (MOEMS), one of the most influential and exciting math competitions in the world. Established in 1979, MOEMS aims to teach students multiple strategies for solving out-of-the-box equations and to encourage mathematical ingenuity and problem-solving skills.

“Our team now is made up of over fifty Third through Fifth grade students,” said Lower School Math Faculty Catherine (Cathy) Hamblet. 

Upper Elementary (Fourth and Fifth Grade) Students have been improving their decimal numerals and fraction comprehension skills to better prepare for the upcoming submission. The first problem to solve in the Math Olympiad competition is often a calculation problem, followed by a variety of algebraic thinking and number theory problems. During practice sessions, Catherine categorizes the problems based on students’ needs.

“The Math Olympiad problems are different from what they would see in a classroom,” Cathy said. “One of the things that’s refreshing to them is being able to collaborate with their fellow teammates. It’s fun for them to work together to figure problems out.”

Students involved in the Math Olympiad group have built connections with one another and fostered a sense of teamwork through communication and trust. The students are on one collaborative team that has learned to appreciate the strengths and individuality of all minds by inviting varied perspectives.

“We’re a highly inclusive math team,” Cathy said. “Anyone could join; no one was required to try out. You just had to come with a spirit of wanting to engage in math.”

Lower School students solve contest problems every Thursday morning before school, and Cathy reports their scores to the Math Olympiad judges, who evaluate based on the scores of other school math teams around the world. This year, mathematicians at The Bush School entered a new competition on the Aretelabs platform, featuring problems from the American Mathematics Competitions (AMC). It is made up of teams across the country, as well as a few international teams.

“After two qualifying rounds, we ranked number twenty-four out of 100 teams, which put Bush in the Division One bracket,” shared Cathy. “The competitive math season ends on Thursday, December 18.”

 

Bush students won their first bracket round twenty to sixteen, besting the Osky Pride team from Oskaloosa Elementary in Iowa. In the second bracket, the score was a close twenty-one to twenty-three. Although they were defeated by College Park Elementary from San Mateo, CA, they remain in the top fifty ranks.

 

“We will enter another bracket in the weeks to come and are looking for lots of fun math to come!” said Cathy.