MathCounts! Coach Erik Hahn is joined by students (L-R) Robin Henrikson, Amelia Roth, Linnea Henrikson, and Andy Kern after the team’s fourth place finish in the regional competition. The team was joined by individual competitors Ellen Callender, Lucy Callender, Cedric Rock, and Nina Woerheide.
Eight student “mathletes” from Great Expectations School traveled to Duluth in February to participate in the Arrowhead Regional MATHCOUNTS! competition. MATHCOUNTS! competitions take place among middle school students across the country, with regional, state, and national level champions. Each school enters a four-person team, and as many as six additional individual entrants whose scores do not count in the team standings.
In Duluth, the students spent hours solving challenging math problems alongside representatives from 11 other schools in the region. Students worked independently in the first two rounds, and then collaborated with teammates for the third and final rounds.
The team from GES placed fourth in the competition, behind the powerful mathematicians from Esko, Hibbing, and Hermantown.
GES team member Robin Henrikson explained their strategy. “Each person chose the problems that worked best with their brain, then we checked our answers with each other.”
Parent volunteer Jeff Kern supported GES educator Erik Hahn with his coaching duties, working with students on their problem-solving skills during the weeks leading up to the competition. In spite of the additional math practice the team put into their preparation, eighth-grader Nina Woerheide lamented that this was her last year of eligibility. “I wish I could do it again next year,” she said.
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