STOCKTON – The roughly 170 students who streamed into the San Joaquin County Office of Education on April 25 rode in on a wave of noise and excitement for the Fifth Annual San Joaquin County Math Tournament for grades four through six.
But when it was time to pick up their pencils and get to work, a silence fell over the competition room filled with 27 teams from 16 schools within San Joaquin County.
The tournament helps schools promote excellence in math, raise student test scores, increase student self-esteem, develop problem-solving skills and hone cooperative skills in a competitive environment. Seventh- and eighth-grade students competed on March 21. The April 25 group of competitors was fourth- through sixth-grade students.
The silence broke and the excitement returned during the awards ceremony, where Lammersville Unified School District’s Bethany Elementary School came out on top.
The Bethany students had been working hard for months, but they had fun, too.
Bethany fifth-grader Vishnu Matta, 11, said he likes solving algebra problems. “It’s almost like a mystery game that you have to keep solving.”
Individuals worked on problems on their own during the first session of the morning. The late-morning session allowed team members to tackle problems together. Results from both the individual and team events went toward the final score.
Like students from other schools taking part in the contest, students in the two teams from Lincoln Unified School District’s Brookside Elementary School had been meeting after school to prepare for this contest since November. One of the Brookside teams took fifth place.
Coach Leah Galan said they had visits from a college mathematics professor and other instructors specializing in math to help prepare. It’s the third year the school has taken part in the event.
It is also a time for competitors and their families to get together for lunch after the competition, but before the winners are announced, Galan said. “This day is like a big picnic. Everyone shares food. This is a great event.”
“The benefits of competing in the Math Tournament are long lasting,” said Satinder Singh, Director of the San Joaquin County Office of Education Mathematics Department. "In order for our kids to thrive in the 21st Century, they need to think creatively and develop collaboration, communication and critical-thinking skills. The problems that students practice in preparation for the Math Tournament and during the Math Tournament are non-routine mental exercises, which help students in their development of these necessary skills,” Singh said.
Students don’t usually see the types of problems from the competition in the classroom. “Our Math Tournament provides an opportunity for these mathletes to use their brainpower to not only collaborate with each other but also compete with other teams to score points. Additionally, celebrating the students’ academic successes is imperative in their well-rounded development and overall sense of confidence," Singh said.
Top-five teams:
- First Place: Bethany Elementary, Lammersville Unified School District.
- Second Place: Discovery Charter-Tracy Learning Center, Tracy Unified School District.
- Third Place:?Rio Calaveras Elementary, Stockton Unified School District.
- Fourth Place: Monte Vista Middle, Tracy Unified School District.
- Fifth Place: Brookside Elementary, Lincoln Unified School District.
Highest scoring individuals:
- James Camacho, Discovery Charter-Tracy Learning Center, Tracy Unified School District.
- Dominic Galang, Discovery Charter-Tracy Learning Center, Tracy Unified School District.
- Jonathan Guite, Tom Hawkins Elementary, Jefferson Elementary School District.
- Mysha Mamsa, Discovery Charter-Tracy Learning Center, Tracy Unified School District.
- Ananth Manibushan, Altamont Elementary, Lammersville Unified School District.