Schools

Marple Students Participate in East Coast Math Challenge

Marple Newtown High School had two teams that participated in Moody's Mega Math Challenge March 5 to solve a real-life problem as well as their chance to win $100,000 worth of scholarship money.

NEWTOWN SQUARE–Ten students from participated in a prestigious, east coast mega math challenge last Saturday for their hand in $100,000 worth of scholarship money but also for recognition.

The students were split up into two teams of five, in which each team competed against over 580 schools and approximately 2,575 students all across the eastern sea-border of the United States in the 2011 Moody's Mega Math Challenge.

Marple Newtown's first team included juniors Ed Callaghan, Drew Lopreiato, Greg Stulpin, Kenny Yau and senior Kyle Cameron. The second team included juniors Christie Abel, Jeanette Ding, Joshua Kim, Rebecca Lin and senior Hana Yeh.

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Out of all the teams that participated, Marple Newtown was one of the three Delaware County schools who participated. The other two high schools, according to Michelle Montgomery, Marple Newtown's project director for the challenge, were Garnet Valley High School and Interboro High School.

According to Montgomery, the teams compete in the challenge entirely online in a "real-world focused math modeling contest."

Find out what's happening in Marple Newtownwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

"It is very prestigious," said Montgomery. "Likely at most 10-15 percent of this year’s teams will be successful in round one."

Michael Clancy, challenge coach and math department chair at the high school, said this was Marple Newtown's second year to participate in the challenge.

This year's challenge question had students provide a solution for the drought of Lake Powell in the Colorado River Basin. Students had to find the economic and hydrological impact of the drought, while taking into account the political ramifications of water distribution to the basin states, according to the Moody's Mega Math Challenge Web site.

Clancy said the challenge is a unique contest in comparison to any other in which it deals with "real-life" scenarios that students may be able to use in the future.

"The 'real-life' question posed puts a true application for the students’ knowledge and requires that the students do some research," said Clancy. "This new experience provides students with an appreciation of how their academic skills can be applied to 'real-life' situations. This contest broadens our students’ academic experiences, which I consider an asset to each of them in the future."

Winning teams will receiving anywhere between $2,500 to $20,000 in scholarship prizes.


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