Petway's Fourth and Fifth Grade Math 24 Teams

MARCH 15, 2008

The Fourth Grade team waiting for the completion to begin

Petway's Winning Fourth Grade Team
with coaches Mr. Hughes and Ms. Spada

In the Fourth Grade competition Petway took First Place, Second Place, Third Place and Fourth Place.

The compettition was city wide against 7 other elementary schools.

In the Fifth Grade competition Petway also took First Place, Second Place, Third Place and Fourth Place

The compettition was city wide against 7 other elementary schools.

Many thanks to our Principal Pat Phillips, Assistant Principal Karen Malatesta
and the the fifth grade coaches Ms. Basile and Mrs. Gruber

 

Petway Again Sweeps Top 4 Spots in Both Divisions of Math 24 Tournament

Students from host Petway Elementary School swept the top four places in both the grade four and grade five divisions of the 13th annual Math 24 game tournament finals held Saturday, March 15.

It was the second year in a row that Petway won all eight medals in the contest.

The tournament attracted a near capacity crowd of parents, other family members and friends, according to Mrs. Donna Nedohon, Supervisor of Instruction for Mathematics. Tournament coordinator was Roberta Porcelli of Petway, who announced that she is stepping down after many years at the helm of the much-anticipated event.

In the fifth grade division, Tim Williams won first place and will receive a $100 U.S. Savings Bond from the Vineland Board of Education. Mark Novatorskiy finished second, Sabreen Sehgal was third and Kyle Castellini was fourth. All three will receive $50 Savings Bonds. In last year’s competition, Novatorskiy was first and Williams second.

In the fourth grade contest, Devon Mattie won first place and Stephanie Brady won second place, Dreshawn Davis was third and Gavneet Sehgal finished fourth. Mattie will also receive a $100 Savings Bond and the three runners-up will get $50 Bonds. All eight top contestants also won medals in honor of their achievement.

“But everyone is a winner in this sort of academic challenge,” said Chalky Ottinger, Superintendent of Schools. “The Math 24 tournament not only helps students improve their math skills, but provides an opportunity to experience the thrill of competition. In preparing for this tournament, these students may also make lasting friendships. At the district level, the interaction allows students a chance to meet and get to know students from our other schools. These are invaluable experiences that we want to continue, and offer to as many students as possible.”

Mrs. Pat Phillips, Petway Principal, credited her coaches and teachers with the continued success of the students in the tournament.

“Our coaches are absolutely awesome,” said Phillips. “The fourth and fifth grade teachers work so hard with our kids. It is a team effort to get winning teams like this every year.”

Petway’s coaches are Rosemarie Spada, Gregg Hughes, Marla Gruber and Jennifer Basile.

Phillips said the competition at the school level is “pretty intense” so it was no surprise that the Petway students did so well at the district level.

The tournament is divided into three rounds of play for grade 4 and four rounds for the grade 5 contestants. Students solve math problems on cards, using four numbers and any four of the mathematical operations, addition, subtraction, multiplication and division, to make a final answer of 24.

Participants vie against three other players in a timed round competing to solve cards and earn points. At the end of the first two rounds, the number of participants is cut and those remaining students compete in a final round to determine the top four medal winners.
Students are introduced to the game in the beginning of the year, which has proven to be very popular. The game helps to provide students with a solid foundation of math skills and addresses many of the core curriculum standards in mathematics. Students not only practice basic math facts in the areas of whole numbers, fractions, decimals, exponents, and algebra, they become adept at mental math, communicating mathematically, validating their thinking, and recognizing multiple ways to solve problems. The added benefit is that all this thinking and problem solving is disguised as a game, thereby helping to create a new generation of thinkers.