CAHS Wins First STTJ District High School Math Bowl

Winners of the first STTJ District High School Math Bowl. CAHS team members include K'Mari McClean, Xaver Richardson, KJ Thompson, De'Zanie Smalls, and Jemm-Annie Samuel.

Charlotte Amaile High School math wizards emerged as winners in the first St. Thomas-St. John District High School Math Bowl, held Friday, May 12 in the Ivanna Eudora Kean High School (IEKHS) library. The five-member team went up against the five-member IEKHS team to successfully complete the competition that tested students' skill in algebra, geometry, probability and statistics.

The competition comprised a Speed Round, Team Round and Bonus Round. Calculators were only allowed in the Team and Bonus Rounds.

The enthusiasm for math could be felt throughout the room, according to Avon Benjamin, district math coordinator and founder of the Math Bowl. He was so impressed with the level of interest he observed from students in the audience, he offered them the opportunity to solve the math problems along with the competing teams.

Unlike the annual MATHCOUNTS competition, there was no written component to the district Math Bowl. Additionally, students were asked to give oral explanations on how they arrived at their solutions and the friendly, learning atmosphere also gave competitors ample opportunity to interact with their peers in the audience.

Reflecting on the Math Bowl's success, Mr. Benjamin said, "Several students already told me to sign them up next year. That's what we were hoping for when we decided to have this competition. We want to raise the level of interest in mathematics throughout the district."

Mr. Benjamin further pointed out that while MATHCOUNTS caters to students in grades 6th - 8th, the Math Bowl is geared toward students in grades 9th - 12th. "This will hopefully be an annual event. None of this would be possible without the assistance of the math chairperson from each school. We hope to alternate the location of the competition each year."