General News: Cornwall Mathletes Compete in Sectionals
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| Student Mathletes (l to r) Ben Wells, Kristina Kwang, Bobby Flitsch, Kaitlin Strine, Sarah Miller, Charlie Paffenroth, Lora Rinaldi and Jungie Wang. |
March 13, 2011
By Ross Miller
For three straight years, Cornwall Central High School’s Math Team qualified to send eight students to the New York State Math League’s Section Competition held on on Wednesday, March 9, at Vassar College. This year’s team placed in the top 10 of 20 schools that competed, out of a total of 50 schools that comprise the Dutchess, Ulster, Sullivan, and Orange (DUSO) Section.
“Mathletes” represent Cornwall High School
Under the direction of math teachers Kathy Zammit and Stephen Cerbino, this year’s qualifiers included seniors Bobby Flitsch, Kaitlin Strine, and Ben Wells; juniors Charlie Paffenroth, Sarah Miller, and Lora Rinaldi; sophomore Jungie Wang; and freshman Kristina Kwang. Zammit also directs the high school’s Mandelbrot Competition team.
Math teacher Zammit and her students take pride in referring to themselves as “mathletes,” as these competitions present considerable mental challenges, Qualifying students have to accumulate high scores during the year’s monthly local competitions in order to take part in the sectional competition. One student, Jungie Wang, has been invited to compete at the state tournament in April at Suffolk Community College.
Special Math Museum to Open in New York City Next Year
At the section tournaments, a guest lecturer spoke to the 100 or more students who represented area high schools. Professor George Hart, formerly of Stony Brook University and current Chief of Content for the Museum of Math in New York City, enthralled students with descriptions of his perplexing, provocative mathematic sculptures (see www.georgehart.com).
Professor Hart indicated that the new Museum of Math (momath.org) should open by mid-2012, noting that, “It will be the coolest place you can imagine to discover and enjoy the wonders of mathematics.”
After the competition, Zammit said she touched by how the Cornwall team was “impressed by how driven the other teams are, using their minds to compete, and to win.”
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