Students show off math skills at competition
Saturday, February 25, 2006 11:29 PM PST
By Evan Caldwell
Printable version
E-mail this articleKyle Hendrix trained nearly every day during the past month for the competition on Saturday.
The training paid off as Hendrix, a fourth-grade student at Woodland Elementary School, advanced to the finals in the countywide All-Star Math competition.
Hendrix was one of 28 fourth-, fifth- and sixth-grade students who won schoolwide competitions to earn a spot in the All-Star Math quarterfinals, held Saturday at the Kelso High School library. The students competed by playing All-Star Math, an educational board game created by Doug Maynard, owner of the Learning Outlet in Kelso.
Two groups of students competed against each other in their grade levels as parents and grandparents watched. The first person to win three games advanced to the next round.
The game requires players to use two of five numbered cards in their hands to apply a math function --- such as add, subtract, multiply or divide --- to result in a number located somewhere on the board. Different numbers are worth different points.
About 2,500 students throughout the county have been playing the math skills game during January, Maynard said.
"This is designed to be a competitive board game," Maynard said. "That's why I named it All-Stars, to invoke the sense of a competition."
Maynard, a former teacher and principal, said students tend to lose interest in math during fourth, fifth and sixth grades.
"I wanted to create a game that will be inspiring and students will enjoy," he said. "This might keep more kids interested in math."
Quarterfinal winners received a medal and All-Star Math game ($24.99). Maynard said he hopes to organize the competition again next year.
Hendrix will compete in the All-Star finals at The Learning Outlet against the other fourth-grade winner, Mason Amren of Kalama Elementary School, at 1 p.m. March 11. Hendrix has been playing up to two times a day because "it's fun and it gets your brain going," he said.
Joining Hendrix in the championship round will be two Kelso fifth-grade students, Jake Cervantes of Catlin Elementary and Mythreya Lingala of Butler Acres Elementary, and two Kelso sixth-grade students, Amelia Longbons of Coweeman Middle School and Quinn Cutler of Huntington Middle School.
Winners will receive a $50 gift certificate to The Learning Outlet, a trophy and two Trail Blazers tickets. Runners-up win a trophy and a $25 gift certificate to The Learning Outlet.
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