Third-graders prepare for their portion of the Math Whiz Contest at Newman Elementary School.
Buzzers buzzed, lights flashed and the audience cheered Friday during Newman Elementary School’s Math Whiz Contest.
Autumn Byerly patiently solved, then correctly answered, the most problems to win the third-grade contest. She wasn’t always the first to buzz in but when she did she usually had the right answer.
Ten third-graders who qualified earlier in their classroom were introduced individually as they entered the gym to a loud recording of “Eye of the Tiger.” Classmates, parents and teachers cheered.
Seated in a long semi-circle each of the 10 contestants had a buzzer to press to answer questions projected onto a large screen. Each buzzer was connected to a bright orange light that came on at the table. Students had only 10 seconds to offer an answer. If the first response was incorrect, the next student to buzz in had a chance to answer.
The same procedure was followed earlier in the day for competitions among kindergarten students and first- and second-graders. Questions were from four categories: measurements, story problems, number sense and multiplication.
Autumn was first to correctly respond to “write this number in words: 3,974.” Among her other firsts was a solution to this problem: “Draw a rectangle. Break it into eight equal parts, then shade six-eighths of it.”
Third-grader Chris Perkins finished second, correctly answering several questions, including one that sought the answer to 635 + (420-170).
Conner Tudor was third. He was first to correctly solve problems that included 962-483 and 12 x 11.
All participants at each grade level received medals. First-place winners were awarded trophies.
Other Math Whiz winners included:
Kindergarten: Anthony Lovell, first; D’Naji Adams, second; Bryce Tudor, third.
First grade: Nevaeh Moyer, first; Johnny Dale Hudson, second; Anthony Lewis, third.
Second grade: Dametrese Ransaw, first; Gavin Bishop, second; Terijo Wayman, third.
The contest was organized by a staff committee of Colleen Coy, Nadia Pokrzywa, Abbi Schepflin and Brenda Switzer.