Make it Count: Waukee Schools Celebrate Math Achievements

From the Waukee Schools Website:

Math Warriors Coach George De Graaf presented students with awards at the Mathematics Awards Ceremony April 22 held during the Waukee Community School District (WCSD) Board of Education meeting.

Students from Waukee High School and both middle schools were present to accept their awards. The public and members of the WCSD Board of Education were given an overview of the achievements students have earned throughout the school year

Waukee Middle School and South Middle School finished among the top ten schools in the MATHCOUNTS Chapter Competition in February.

MATHCOUNTS is a national middle school coaching and competitive mathematics program that promotes mathematics achievement throughout a series of fun and engaging contests.

The team from Waukee Middle School finished in eighth place. The team is comprised of four students: Frank Li, Matt Blaess, Holden Sinnard, and Dakota Fouts and is coached by Pam Sandquist.

South Middle School’s MATHCOUNTS team finished in second place in the Chapter Competition and then earned second place in the State Competition. Their team of four students includes Ben Heidt, Ashley Sjurson, Aravin Sivamurugan, and Hima Joseph and is coached by Jim Heidt and Chris Brown.

Waukee Math Warriors is the name of Waukee High School’s math club. This year, they finished in second place in the state of Iowa in the Math League Competition. Nathan De Graaf, Brian Cumpston, Madi Shutters, Meg Meyer,and Noah Smith made up the Math League Team, which is coached by Carly Sitzmann and George De Graaf.  The Math League was formed in 1977. Currently, more than one million students from the US and Canada participate in their monthly contests.

The American Mathematics Competitions (AMC) have been offered for more than 60 years and are the most respected school-based mathematics competitions in the nation. The AMC contests provide high quality, challenging math problems for high school students.  Top scorers in the AMC for 2013 were Ty Smith (AMC10), Jason Wittmuss (AMC10) and Nathan De Graaf (AMC12). Nathan De Graaf’s score on the AMC 12 exam earned him a bronze medal and qualified him to take the American Invitational Mathematics Examination, the first time Waukee High School has had a student qualify since 2005.

The final math competition of the year was the Trig-Star Contest, sponsored by the National Society of Professional Surveyors.  The Trig-Star contest is based on practical applications of trigonometry. Nathan De Graaf finished in first place, followed by Emma Georgeff and Ty Smith, who tied for second place.

South Middle School   Coach: Jim Heidt
Chapter Competition – 2nd placeState Competition – 2ndplaceBen HeidtAshley SjursonAravin SivamuruganHima Joseph

Waukee High SchoolCoach: George De Graaf

Math League Competition – 2nd place in Iowa

Nathan De Graaf, Brian Cumpston, Madi Shutters, Meg Meyer, Noah Smith

American Mathematics Competition

AMC 10 A: Ty SmithAMC 10 B:Jason Wittmuss AMC 12 A: Nathan De Graaf AMC 12 B: Nathan De Graaf Bronze Medal Winner: Nathan De Graaf

American Invitational Mathematics Examination Qualifier and Award of Distinction Nathan De Graaf

2013 Trig-Star Contest Nathan De Graaf Emma Georgeff Ty Smith

Waukee Middle School Coach: Pam Sandquist 

Chapter Competition – 8th place: Frank Li, Matt Blaess, Holden Sinnard, Dakota Fo