About MATHCOUNTS at Jenks Middle School
by Dan Beaty
1. What is MATHCOUNTS?
a. A Math competition consisting of:
i. Sprint Rounds--30 problems in 40 minutes Calculator NOT permitted
ii. Target Round--8 problems: four sets of two problems, six minutes each. Calculator Used
iii. Team Round--10 problems in 20 minutes--Team works together Calculator Usediv. Countdown Round--fast paced oral competition for the top scoring individuals Calculator NOT permitted
b. Levels of competition
i. School, Selects top 8 students--top four for team; 4 individual (late January)
ii. Regional--In Tulsa for the winners at the school competition (Usually early February)
iii. State--Top teams from Regional competitions--all expenses paid trip (Usually early March)
iv. National--Top 4 individuals from the state--all expenses paid trip to Arlington, VA. (with the coach from the 1st place team)
2. Expectations of MATHCOUNTS.
a. Practices every week
b. Weekly assignments (see sheet)
c. Help each other/teach each other
d. Those who want to do well will need to do more than just the minimum assignments--MATHCOUNTS is not about grades, its about getting better at Math. Here are some recommended sites for extra practice.
i. MATHCOUNTS Problem of the Week
ii. MathJams
iii. Go Figure
iv. Problems from NCTM
v. Problems from other approved competitions (Bonus credit will be given for extra work completed and correct.)
vi. Competitions on the student website (given in practice)
3. What we do in the practices (in Room 2506)
a. Check/correct assignments (help each other)
b. Lesson
c. Snack
d. Practice Round
e. Practices last till 4:00
f. From 4:00-4:30 is optional time for those wanting to do CountDown rounds
4. Selecting the top students/grading
a. Warm-up/Workouts 8%
b. Weekly competitions 18%
c. Quizzes 8%
d. School Sprint/Target round averaged with a State Sprint/Target (double weight on State round) 64%
e. Additional Work Completed.
f. Attendance 2%
5. We meet on Thursdays from 2:35 till 4:00 PM in Room 2506 (Optional CountDown round practice from 4:00 till 4:30)
6. How Jenks Middle School did in previous seasons:
2005: 1st in state. Two team members advanced to Nationals (Oklahoma took 6th place)
2006: 2nd in state. One team member advanced to Nationals.
2007: 1st in state. Two team members advanced to Nationals.
2008: 2nd in state. One team member advanced to Nationals.
2009: 2nd in state. One team member advanced to Nationals.
2010: 1st in state. Two team members advanced to Nationals.
2011: 3rd in state, One team member advanced to Nationals.
2012: 1st in state, Two team members advanced to Nationals.
Jenks Public School