ST. THOMAS, USVI — A team of middle school Mathletes^® from All Saints Cathedral School, Antilles School, and Good Hope Country Day took top honors at the State MATHCOUNTS^® Competition, held Friday, March 24 in St. Thomas. The top four individuals—Naitik Jhanwar, eighth grader at All Saints; Sanjiv Bachan and Meher Makhijani, seventh and eighth grader, respectively, at Antilles; and Tristan Samuel, eighth grader at Good Hope Country Day—will represent the Virgin Islands at the 2023 Raytheon Technologies MATHCOUNTS National Competition in Orlando, Fla., May 13-16. Sara Dykstra, Good Hope Country Day coach, will travel with the team to the national competition. 

“With this being the first state MATHCOUNTS competition held since the pandemic, it was great to have students back in the room together,” said Avon Benjamin, state MATHCOUNTS coordinator. “I really enjoyed seeing the camaraderie between students from across the two districts, and it was exciting to see students excited about doing math, and to know that at this young age, their interest in mathematics is there.” 

MATHCOUNTS is geared toward students in grades 6th-8th. With that, Benjamin pointed out his admiration for the performance of the two youngest students participating in the state competition—sixth graders Dorian Euzebe and Makayla Griffith of Ricardo Richards Elementary School. 

“I was very impressed with the students from Ricardo Richards, they held their own,” he said. “The fact that they made it to represent their district in the Top 10 is something they should be very proud of.” 

Jennifer Cannon, All Saints coach, said the best part of the competition was, “Seeing the students build their skills and expand their analytical abilities. They worked hard and saw the pay-off.” Dykstra added, “It was fun to watch the mathletes compete and interact with each other, talk math, and watch them react to the results.” 

More than 100,000 students across the U.S. participate each year in the MATHCOUNTS Competition Series, a national math competition that aims to build confidence and problem-solving skills for students who participate. Programs like MATHCOUNTS are critical to preparing students to succeed in science, technology, engineering, or mathematics (STEM) careers of the future.  

The state competition is sponsored by Rotary Club of St. Thomas II. Leadership at the local levels of the MATHCOUNTS Competition Series is provided by the math coordinators from each district, Juanita Boneque and Benjamin, St. Croix and St. Thomas-St. John District coordinators, respectively. 

The National Sponsors of MATHCOUNTS Foundation are Raytheon Technologies, U.S. Department of Defense STEM, Northrop Grumman Foundation, the National Society of Professional Engineers, 3Mgives, Texas Instruments Incorporated and Art of Problem Solving. MATHCOUNTS was founded by the National Society of Professional Engineers, National Council of Teachers of Mathematics and CNA Insurance. 

 

About MATHCOUNTS Foundation:  

MATHCOUNTS is a nonprofit organization that strives to engage middle school students of all ability and interest levels in fun, challenging math programs, in order to expand their academic and professional opportunities. Middle school students exist at a critical juncture in which their love for mathematics must be nurtured, or their fear of mathematics must be overcome. For more than 30 years, MATHCOUNTS has provided free, high-quality resources to educators and enriching, extracurricular opportunities to students to lay a foundation for future success. Materials and information are available at www.mathcounts.org. Follow @MATHCOUNTS on Twitter.  

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Download press release here:  pdf Students Win First State Math Competition Since Pandemic (182 KB)  

ST. THOMAS, USVI – Bertha C. Boschulte Middle School students now have access to free essential hygiene products, clothing items, and school supplies, thanks to the efforts of the St. Thomas Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., who formally adopted the school and simultaneously launched the DST Comfort Closet during a ceremony held at the school on Tuesday, March 21. 

 

According to chapter president Shanika Charles, the organization began working closely with BCB last school year and sought to formalize its commitment to providing the Bovoni-area school of more than 500 students in grades 6-8 with ongoing support. Students in need may discreetly obtain items from the on-campus store with the aid of a school counselor, nurse, or teacher. 

 

“We are here today because we formally adopted BCB last school year and this is one of our first initiatives, where we are donating to the Comfort Closet that will offer an array of items that the students may need,” she said. “They can come to the office, and there are items for them to choose from, based on their needs.” 

 

Dr. Kifani Hendricks-Carey, BCB assistant principal and chairperson of the sorority’s Social Action Committee, further explained the origins of the project.  

 

“We have been working tirelessly on this project, as we know the needs of our students, and we are trying to fill in the gap for students where resources are needed,” she said, adding that the idea for the comfort closet stemmed from conversations with staff, and a recommendation by the school’s student success specialist, Meki’ya Thomas. 

  

“We are here to serve the students and we are hoping to get the community involved to make sure that the resources continue to be replenished as they are needed,” she said. “We know that our students have many needs, and we are hoping that the partnership continues in the vein it was started.” 

 

Department of Education Commissioner Dr. Dionne Wells-Hedrington praised the effort, noting its alignment with a focus area of the Department. 

 

“Having community partners like the St. Thomas Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority come to the aid of our students in this way is tremendous,” she said. “Building and maintaining partnerships is a top priority of mine and we are extremely grateful for this new relationship forged with Delta Sigma Theta Sorority. We welcome anyone who wishes to partner with our schools because it takes all of us, as a collective whole, to ensure the very best for our students.”    

 

The Chapter, which boasts 71 active members on St. Thomas, seeks the community’s support in the form of new donated items to ensure DST Comfort Closet remains fully stocked. Requested items include, but are not limited to shampoo, conditioner, deodorant, bath soap (liquid and bar), toothbrushes, toothpaste, floss, hairbrushes, combs, hair bands, mouthwash, pocket-sized tissues, body wipes, toilet paper, flushable wipes, socks, underwear, new clothing and shoes, laundry detergent, dryer sheets, backpacks, pencils, notebook paper, and composition notebooks. Furthermore, organizers say financial donations to DST Comfort Closet will only benefit the project. 

 

The sorority intends to expand the initiative to other middle and high schools throughout the St. Thomas-St. John District. For more information or to donate items, email sttalumnaechapter@gmail.com or visit www.sttacdst.org.  

 

For information on adopting a school, contact Department of Education Director of Partner Relations Monique Creque at (340) 774-0100 ext. 8062 or email monique.creque@vide.vi. 

  

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Download press release here:  pdf St. Thomas Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. Launches ‘Comfort Closet’ at BCB Middle School (182 KB)