Julia Zou/Courtesy photo

LAPS NEWS RELEASE

Piñon Elementary 6th grader Julia Zou was among the top 16 mathematicians in New Mexico in the recent Mathcounts competition. 

This was her first year participating in the competition. Even though she didn’t qualify for the countdown round at the state level, she is looking forward to participating in the program again next year, noted her coach, Svetlana Martin. “Julia had a lot of fun, and it really increased her interest in mathematics,” she added. Ms. Martin has been coaching Mathcounts since 2007 at Pinon Elementary and Barranca Mesa Elementary schools.

MATHCOUNTS® is a national Middle School program that encourages students to increase their math skills through learning and competition. Students meet once a week for practice. Practice sessions include correcting assignments, and a lesson which often covers things that are not taught in the regular classroom.

Top students advance from school competition to regional, state and national competitions. The competition includes sprint rounds, with 30 problems in 40 minutes without using a calculator; a target round of eight problems: four sets of two problems, six minutes each and the use of a calculator; and a team round, where the team works together to solve 10 problems in 20 minutes.