Grafton Globe Newspaper
Winter 2020 Edition
Stefan Banach once said, “Mathematics is the most beautiful and most powerful creation of the human spirit.” Here at Grafton High School, we host a wonderful group of aspiring students who plan on making this idea into a reality. The GHS Math Team is a very successful club of students who wish to expand and exercise their expertise in mathematics at a competitive level. While many might assume that the Math Team is just another average club, if you take a closer look, you just might see it as a lot more. If you’re interested in joining the Math Team, it may be helpful to know what we do. The GHS Math Team practices different types of math problems, and competes in competitions against Math Teams from other school districts. Unlike the majority of Teams here at GHS, the Math Team has no JV/Freshman Team; we only have a Varsity Team. Luckily, we have found great success on the Math Team, regardless of a member’s grade or math ability. The Math Team has no prerequisite, so anyone can be a part of our Team, even if they feel as if they are terrible at math. On our Team, we never discriminate based on a person’s level of expertise in mathematics, as we pride ourselves with our members’ love for the subject. Our Math Team competes in competitions against other schools throughout the year. We have a total of four competitions every year. The competition, or meet, is split in two parts, the individual and Team round. We split our entire Team into mini Teams of five people, each consisting of at least one member who has an understanding of all topics that the Teams will be asked. During the individual round, each person competes in three of the five different categories. These are chosen before the competition begins. At the start of this category round, students are given a three question test and scrap paper. The students will then have ten minutes to complete the three question test, relating only to the topic of the category. The questions range from easy to hard, and are scored respectively. In all, the entire category is six points, where the first and easiest question is one point, the second, medium-difficulty question is two points, and the third and most difficult question is three points. Usually, the first question is easy enough to solve using basic math and common sense, while the third question is complex, where not only the topic must be understood, but a higher level of logic is required to complete the question accurately. We always try our best to make sure that every person gets to compete in the category they are proficient in, allowing us to have the highest possibility to gain points. In all, the highest score a participant can receive is an eighteen, which is extremely impressive. The second part of the competition is the Team round. The mini Teams that we created at the beginning of the first round meet up for the final part of the competition. The Teams are given a final test, which consists of ten questions. Once again, the test must be completed in ten minutes, and scrap paper is provided. This time however, the entire five person Team must work together to finish each question, and calculators are allowed to simplify work. Due to the fact that there are five students, the questions on the Team round are each worth one point and have a moderate difficulty. There are a total of ten questions, which are similar to questions seen in the individual rounds. Once testing finishes, competitors are given snacks to munch on while the scores are totaled up. After the scores have been officiated, the highest scorers of the meet are announced followed by what school they represent. The winning schools of each division are then announced, which is dependent on the scores of the highest scoring mini-Team of that school. The winning Team is determined first by the highest Team round scores, then by the combined individual scores of each member of the Team. Grafton is a division C school, but we hope to get to division B by the end of the school year. Competitors who consistently get eighteen points for their school win monetary prizes at the end of the season. Overall, the Math Team is an incredible club. Aside from the competitions and math, we always have so much fun! I know plenty of people who constantly ask me if they are good enough for the Team, and my simple response is yes. The experience of doing math and learning in a friendly environment is the best part of Math Team, but the math part is fun too! We guarantee you will have an amazing time participating in the competitions. If there is any advice to be given, it is not to psych yourself up too much. If you would like to join, all you have to do is come to our practice meets. We always welcome new members at any meeting. Being on the Math Team is never a large time commitment, and we encourage everybody to participate in whatever they can. We are always open to making accommodations for anyone who wishes to be a part of our Team. Our practice meets are always Wednesdays during extended block in the Student Activities Room. Be on a lookout for the next practice meet and come join us to learn more! Joining the Math Team is a great decision, and I suggest that if you are a lover of math, you join Math Team too. The Math Team is always looking for more members, so if you want to join, be on the lookout for our next Math Team practice by following us on Twitter @GHS_MathTeam, or on Instagram @GHS_MathTeam. Email the president of the club, Raunit Kohli, at [email protected], with any questions at all, and he will get back to you as soon as possible. We hope you consider joining us on Math Team and remember if you got a problem, √-1 can solve them! -Raunit Kohli GHS Math Team President
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Grafton Globe NewspaperStudent created articles in a student run digital newspaper. CategoriesArchives
February 2020
CategoriesHumans of Grafton High |