Young Minds to Compete at Math Contest

Ten high school teams will flex their mathematical prowess at the 26th annual High School Mathematics Contest at Westmont on Saturday, Feb. 9, in Westmont’s Winter Hall. The contest begins at 1 p.m. with a Chalk Talk Derby, written exams and a fast-paced team competition with buzzers modeled after the once-popular College Bowl TV show. Finals will get under way beginning at 4 p.m. in Winter Hall’s Darling Foundation Lecture Hall (Room 210). Dinner and an awards ceremony begin at 5:30 p.m. in Kerr Student Center.

This year’s Chalk Talk topic is “Chaos and Iterated Functions.”

“I'm most excited about seeing the high-quality students who come year in and year out,” says Russell Howell, Westmont professor of mathematics. “Also, one of the awards we’re giving is quite unique. I don’t want to spoil the fun, but it connects with our T-shirt design in an unusual way.”

Participating this year will be Bishop Diego, Cate, Crescenta Valley, Dos Pueblos, Family Schools, La Cañada, Oaks Christian, San Marcos, Santa Barbara and Thacher.

Students from the Thacher School, a coeducational boarding high school in Ojai, have dominated the competition, earning six School Winner Awards for grades 9–10 and 11-12 in the past five years. Dos Pueblos has won three during that time.

A contest itinerary, map, sample questions and photos from past events can be found at www.westmont.edu/mathcontest.