Math can be fun. That is what the Percy Julian Middle School Math Club hopes to show District 97 fifth-graders through its new math competition designed just for them.
“We enjoyed the thrill of going to a competition and meeting other students,” said Anna Forshtay, a seventh grader. “I think that would be nice for fifth graders, so they can meet future peers.”
She and Xander Carroll were some of the brains behind the competition the math club designed for the elementary students. They hope the event also promotes the math club and encourages students to join when they get to middle school.
The math club created individual tests and a team test for participating students. They will also run the entire Percy Julian Math Competition and give tours of the middle school to the participating students.
“I am excited to see the enjoyment of the fifth graders,” Anna said. “Kinda seeing how we might look when we are at our own competitions.”
The club modeled this event after the competitions they’ve attended, such as the Fenwick Junior High School Math Contest, Illinois Math and Science Academy Junior High Mathematics Contest, and the Latin School of Chicago Mathematics Contest.
“We are the only public school that placed at Latin,” Brooks said. “It is a big deal.”
“We enjoyed going to them so much so we want to let other people have that experience,” Zander added.
And the fifth-grade competition was born.
To participate, teachers at the elementary schools in the district must form their own math teams, said Christina Welchko, Julian’s math club sponsor.
“We have had a lot of interest, definitely a lot of questions, and a lot of interest,” Welchko said.
Jack Carroll, a seventh grader, is spreading the word out about how much fun math club can be through various social media pages including their Instagram @pjmsmathteam.
“Part of it was that we wanted to get the word out about the competition and the other part is that we are teenagers,” Xander, Jack’s brother, said. “We think it’s fun.”
As for whether they think the tests at the 5th grade competitions will be easy, that depends who you ask.
Lily Zort, a seventh grader at Percy Julian, helped design the individual test and said she tried to ensure participants would have a range of questions that would be both fun and challenging. Clubmate Anna agreed.
“It can be math they already know up to seventh grade math,” Anna said. “They definitely challenge the brain to go to another level.”
The competition will be open to all D97 elementary schools, not just those zoned for Julian.
The competition will be held Sunday, May 5 at Percy Julian Middle School. For more information and to register, parents can contact their student’s homeroom teacher.