Math Club. When most people hear the name, they aren’t exactly itching to join. Why? Perhaps it’s because they don’t know anything about the club. Math Club isn’t like your average math class. It’s fun, stimulating, and rewarding. Not convinced of its greatness yet? Let’s see what it’s about.

 

In 2013,  Mrs. Ellen Wilken founded Math Club. In 2014, Mrs. Karen Rhea began working with her as a co-advisor for the club. Mrs. Wilken retired two years ago, so Mrs. Rhea and Mr. Harvey Lyles are the current co-advisors. Both teachers are full of passion and vitality when it comes to math, so there’s never a dull moment.

 

Mrs. Rhea encourages students to participate in the club simply “for the joy of solving math problems that are not typically solved in a math classroom.”  

 

Senior Cara O’Mahoney urges others to join, “You get to expand and challenge your mathematical abilities. Plus, you get to meet people with similar interests.”

 

In Math Club, it’s not a teacher standing in front of a board and lecturing the class. According to Mrs. Rhea, they “solve problems that require creative and out-of-the-box thinking.” Even on the club’s first meeting on September 11, the members played a game called “Spot It” that was seemingly unrelated, but they were able to incorporate math into the game in a fun manner. This was a matching card game that required speed. Each card in the deck featured eight symbols, where there is always one matching symbol between two cards. The goal of the game is be the quickest to find the match between two cards. After playing for some time, Mr. Lyles went on to talk about how probability played a factor in the game, and asked the students to solve some problems.

 

The club also does practice tests, works on mathematical strategies, and collaborates together to find new solutions to problems. They do this, not only for everyday life, but for competitions. The Math Club participates in numerous competitions throughout the year like the Duke Math Meet, Math League, Purple Comet! Math Meet, Moody’s Mega Math Challenge, and the American Mathematics Competition.

 

Three members participated in Moody’s Mega Math Challenge last year. Senior Paul Sartorelli, and Pinecrest alumni Matthew and Luke Wheeler came to school on a Saturday and worked for fourteen hours solving a Modeling Problem. These gentlemen used their mathematical abilities to solve a real world modeling problem that dealt with future changes within the United States. The prize for this competition was $20,000. Even though the members did not place in the competition, Mrs. Rhea said that they all “learned a lot and hope to participate again and do even better.”

 

Math Club is a place where you can explore your favorite subject with people who share your passion. You can learn, make friends, and get rewards. The first meeting of the year was filled with nervous, but excited air. If Math Club is something you would be interested in, meetings are every other Monday in Mrs. Rhea’s room from 4:00 to 5:00pm. Even if you’re not interested in this club, root for them in their upcoming competitions as a fellow Patriot!