By: Benjamin Rickert, Communications Dept.
Students kept calm under pressure and made math a team sport at this year's Elevating Mathematics competition! On April 26, 134 elementary school students in fourth through sixth grades gathered at the Buncombe County Schools Central Office for the district-wide event. It was an opportunity for students to put their critical thinking and math skills to the test through challenging timed math puzzles.
“Watching students make sense of non-routine problems and persevere in solving them is always a highlight of this event,” said
K-12 Math Specialist Ms. Stefanie Buckner. “The problems are complex and require new ways of thinking and students work hard to prepare for this event.”
Awards were given to the top five male and female contestants (plus ties) in each grade, as well as to teams at each grade level, explained K-12 Math Specialist Stefanie Buckner. All students competed simultaneously, but only competed for awards within their grade levels.
Under the leadership of Superintendent Dr. Tony Baldwin, BCS maintains a strong focus on
STEM Education (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) at all grade levels. When students reach middle school, they will have the opportunity to compete in the national MathCounts competition.
"We extend a huge thank you to all of our school-based sponsors who worked with their teams before, after, and during school to prepare for this annual event," Buckner added. "We look forward to having more students and schools represented next year!"
Photos of this year's event are available on Google Drive. For questions or clarifications regarding these results, please contact Stefanie.Buckner@bcsemail.org.
INDIVIDUAL AWARDS
4th Grade
Top Performing 4th Grade Students:
Porter Russell, Top 4th Grade Male, Weaverville Elementary School
Maggie Pulver, Top 4th Grade Female, Estes Elementary
Other Top Performing 4th-Graders (alphabetical order):
Jack Anderson, Estes
Kenzie Davis, Estes
Owen Ferguson, Estes
Amaura Feste, Black Mtn Elementary
Calla Harvey, CC Bell Elementary
Brooke Howie, Black Mtn Elementary
Norah Lenell, Weaverville Elementary
Quentin Mallory, Hominy Valley
Ricardo Zuniga, Oakley
5th Grade
Top Performing 5th Grade Students:
Julian Thingvoll, Top Male 5th Grade, Enka Intermediate
Sara Thingvoll, Top Female 5th Grade, Enka Intermdiate
Other Top Performing 5th-Graders (alphabetical order):
Noah Clark, Enka Intm
Henry Cowan, Koontz
Elise Gonzales, Eblen
Corabelle Hubbard, Eblen
Emma Lewellin, North Windy Ridge
Jacob Quade, North Windy Ridge
Maya Sudnik, Black Mtn Elementary
Brooke Warren, Enka Intm
Austen Whittemore, Enka Intm
6th Grade
Top Performing 6th Grade Students:
Top 6th Grade Male: Paul Curran, Koontz
Top 6th Grade Female: Sienna Charlier, North Windy Ridge
Other Top Performing 6th-Graders (alphabetical order):
Sophie Banks, North Windy Ridge
Evan Caywood, Enka Intermdiate
Christopher Elder, Owen Middle
Mason Grant, Koontz
Meera Kondal, Koontz
Sofia LaCorte, Koontz
Miguel Popchock-Moreno, North Windy Ridge
Kestin Puechl-Sproul, North Windy Ridge
Noah Richardson, Enka Intermediate
Caylee Smart, North Windy Ridge
Jonah Smith, North Windy Ridge
Elizabeth Stowe, North Windy Ridge
TEAM AWARDS
4th Grade
Jack Anderson,
Estes
1st place 4th grade
Owen Ferguson
Estes
1st place 4th grade, Estes 4A
Coleman Hooper
Estes
1st place 4th grade, Estes 4A
Maggie Pulver
Estes
1st place 4th grade, Estes 4A
Linken Bullock
Hominy Valley
2nd place 4th grade, HVE 4A
Bryce Devore
Hominy Valley
2nd place 4th grade, HVE 4A
Etta Dezio
Hominy Valley
2nd place 4th grade, HVE 4A
Dylan Murray
Hominy Valley
2nd place 4th grade, HVE 4A
Brooklyn Brown
Oakley Elem.
3rd place 4th grade, OES 4B
Zachary Penley
Oakley Elem.
3rd place 4th grade, OES 4B
Ricardo Zuniga
Oakley Elem.
3rd place 4th grade, OES 4B
5th Grade
Micah Smathers
Enka Intermediate
1st Place, 5th Team
Declan Szostczuk
Enka Intermediate
1st Place, 5th Team
Julian Thingvoll
Enka Intermediate
1st Place, 5th Team
Brycen Turnbow
Enka Intermediate
1st Place, 5th Team
Asher Hill
Koontz
2nd Place, 5th Team
Patrick Robichaud
Koontz
2nd Place, 5th Team
Brendan Smith
Koontz
2nd Place, 5th Team
Noah Clark
Enka Intermediate
3rd Place, 5th Team
Sara Thingvoll
Enka Intermediate
3rd Place, 5th Team
Brooke Warren
Enka Intermediate
3rd Place, 5th Team
Austen Whittemore
Enka Intermediate
3rd Place, 5th Team
6th Grade
Sophie Banks
North Windy Ridge
1st 6th Team
Sienna Charlier
North Windy Ridge
1st 6th Team
Kestin Puechl-Sproul
North Windy Ridge
1st 6th Team
Caylee Smart
North Windy Ridge
1st 6th Team
Paul Curran
Koontz
2nd 6th Team
Meera Kondal
Koontz
2nd 6th Team
Elsie Nast
Koontz
2nd 6th Team
Eli Warren
Koontz
2nd, 6th Team
Sheldon Collier
North Windy Ridge
3rd, 6th Team
Miguel Popchock-Moreno
North Windy Ridge
3rd, 6th Team
Kayson Russell
North Windy Ridge
3rd, 6th Team
Jonah Smith
North Windy Ridge
3rd, 6th Team