Health & Fitness
Golda Och Academy Math League Takes Second Place in State Championships
Golda Och Academy's 3rd grade Math League team earned second place at the Math League State Championships.
Golda Och Academy’s 3rd grade Math League team earned second place at the Math League State Championships. The competition took place on May 9 at the Solomon Schechter Day School of Greater Monmouth County.
GOA Math League team members Eli Berman of West Caldwell, Ilan Brauns of Montclair, Aiden Ehrenreich of South Orange, and David Heimowitz of South Orange competed in four different tests and produced a combined score worthy of the second place trophy. Ilan Brauns also placed third in the individual 3rd grade, and David Heimowitz placed seventh. Testing at the competition consisted of Sprint, Target, Number Sense, and Team rounds.
The team has been practicing together during recess since October under the leadership of Ms. Julie Schwarzwald, Lower School Math Coordinator and Enrichment Specialist. According to Ms. Schwarzwald, students were diligent about pushing themselves and even practiced often on their own.
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“I couldn't be prouder of these boys. It's great that some placed in the top ten as individuals, but it was only with the scores of all four—and their work on the Team Test section when they all worked together to solve a set of problems—that we were able to take the second place overall,” Ms. Schwarzwald said.
The GOA Math League teams in grades 3,4, and 5 also competed in the New Jersey District Math League Competition on Pi Day, March 14. GOA students took many awards; all four 3rd graders placed within the top ten, including second and fifth place trophies. In addition, the 3rd grade team took second place for their grade. The 4th grade team took fifth place, and the 5th grade team took third place. Seven out of the twelve GOA students placed within the top ten for their grades. Ms. Schwarzwald says she is looking forward to continue leading this team over the next two years.
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“This is a group who loves math, thinks about math, dreams about math, and discusses math topics at the dinner table. They challenged me to teach them more and more as much as I challenged them to tackle more difficult concepts, way above grade level,” Ms. Schwarzwald said.
“We are so excited that our students hard work and dedication in preparing for this competition paid off with such incredible results,” Gloria Kron, Lower School Principal said.
