The MacDuffie School’s Math Team is back at it again competing with other schools in the region by answering math related questions on quizzes in order to gain points for their team. According to Mathematics Department Chair and Math Team coach Peter Shelburne, The Math Team scored 95 points at their last meet, 28 points higher than the second highest scoring team, Deerfield Academy.

The latest meet took place at Sabis International Charter School on November 12, 2019. 

“The first meet of the year we came in first place also, but we were ahead by maybe 10 points,” Shelburne said. Getting this many points higher than the opposing team “is very unusual,” according to Shelburne. As of the first two meets, the MacDuffie Math Team is in first place with 184 points, with Deerfield Academy and Longmeadow High School claiming second and third place, respectively. 

The first questions on the quizzes are worth one point, while the second and third questions are worth two and three points, respectively. Students may get partial credit for the second or third questions. There are no calculators allowed, and 10 minutes are given to solve all the problems.

Before students can participate in the competitions, they must first go through the process of becoming a member of the team. 

 “There are tryouts at the beginning of the year, and those are very competitive,” Shelburne said. The team typically consists of six Upper School students in addition to a few substitutes. 

The meets take place at local schools like East Longmeadow High School, Deerfield, and others, as the Math Team is currently competing in the Western Massachusetts League (WML).

The captain of the team, appointed by Shelburne each year, is Senior Nicholas Wang. He determines when practices are held, helps students when they have difficulty answering problems, and makes the final decision if the team has conflicting answers for team round questions. 

For students who want to participate in math competitions outside of the classroom, the MacDuffie School provides other opportunities besides the Math Team such as the AMC Math Competition, Math Madness, and more.