In Caldwell: Math Superstars Travel to Chicago for National Competition

Six students from James Caldwell High School (JCHS) in West Caldwell qualified as national finalists to compete in MathCON, a national online math competition.

Hosted by Concept Schools of Chicago, MathCON’s goal is to engage students in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) outside of the classroom and to encourage more students to enter those fields.

To qualify, students competed against students nationwide in an on-line exam open to students in grades five through 12. According to a release, nearly 45,000 students representing 42 states participated in the first round of online testing. The students with the top 700 scores were invited to compete in Chicago.

The selected JCHS students traveled to Chicago on April 25 to compete at the University of Illinois.

During the competition, students took a paper and pencil test without a calculator where they were able to compete for cash and other prizes.

The students included freshman, Ashvin Nagarajan and Francesca Stadtman, who earned sixth and seventh place for their age groups. Other participants included ninth graders Frederick Wu, Kevin Perry, and Charlie Fierro, and tenth grader Jenna Martinez.

The five students confirmed as reserves were ninth graders Lauren Trusio and Brendan Padover, eleventh grader Rachael Borrows, and twelfth graders Samantha Chang and Madeline Caracappa.

In addition to the 70-minute test, competitors attend a presentation by mathmagician Arthur Benjamin, enjoy a pizza party and play an array of STEM-related games.

“This year, for the first time, our school participated in the online contest,” stated math teacher and math club advisor Patti Miscia.

“My math club co-advisor Lisa DeLaura and I decided to organize the test, having almost all students in our regular and honors level mathematics classes participate in the online contest. We were very excited and proud when we learned that 13 students were invited to participate in a second round of the contest in Chicago, and 14 other students were listed as reserves for students who might not attend.”

Photo courtesy of Christine Corliss

Photo caption: Six students from James Caldwell High School in West Caldwell recently qualified as national finalists to compete in MathCON.

Send Caldwell area news tips and press releases to eric.kiefer@patch.com