GO BEN!

Cape Gazette
Covering Delaware's Cape Region
Lewes • Rehoboth Beach • Milton • Dewey




SCHOOL & EDUCATION
Mon, Apr 26, 2010


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Beacon team rocks the
rhombus at state math meet



By Dave Frederick


Seven Beacon Middle School students answered seven questions each at the statewide middle school grade-on-grade math competition April 15, and when the scores were tabulated and medals and plaques handed out, Beacon had placed fourth in the state and first among public schools and all downstate entries. “We were the least nerdy team there,” the team from the beach said in unison.

“There may be an image that math people are brainy and nerdy, but we are not,” said student competitor Dylan Brown.

During the math competition season, all teams competed in three meets, all held on the same day, using the same questions for a particular grade level. During the meets, each seven-person team answered seven questions. Beacon had three teams for grade seven.

“We had 33 students on our math team for all grade levels,” said math coach Kathy Swingle, who oversees the team along with math teacher Anthony Ranieri.

“A lot of kids come to practice, and contrary to what most believe, we have a great mix of abilities in that group of 33. We have high- to average-ability students,” Swingle said.

There are lots of rules for math meets the outside public doesn’t care much about, like only five members of the seven-person team compete in a given round. Somehow that shook down with Dylan and Ben Wiswell being in on all seven questions.

Ben, who is a bit of a math whiz-bang, answered all seven questions correctly, which moved him into an individual round of seven students, where he finished first.

“These are serious students and great kids who do all kinds of different things,” said Beacon Principal Dave Frederick. “I always say I’d put our kids up against any in the state when it comes to academics. This is good for the school. I call them mathletes.”

The Cape Henlopen School District quickly posted the seventh-grade math team photo on the school website, and Superintendent George Stone and several members of the school board congratulated the students.