The annual “Are You Smarter than a First Grader?” math competition at Danville High School’s gymnasium Thursday morning (April 23rd) brought representation from all over the county. And Danville High School Calculus teacher Rachel Seibert said participation gets better every year.
(Middle Picture) District 118 Curriculum Director MarEllen Bunton welcomes students to the competition.
AUDIO: We’re up to, I think, 32 teams this year. So, we have definitely grown over the years. The first year we hosted, I think we only had maybe about 14 teams. So it’s really exciting to see the county buying into this, and just the parents’ support of all of the teams, and their students as well. The high school students really enjoy it. We’re kind of winding down their senior years, and so this is kind of a little perk for them to have a fun thing to do at the end of their senior years.
Angela Wilson from the District 118 Curriculum Office, who will be assisting the Illinois State Board of Education is preparing state math tests, also said it was great to have first graders from both inside and outside District 118 participating.
(Third Picture) Parents and family members fill the DHS Gymnasium bleachers to watch their math students compete.
AUDIO: We’re welcoming Rossville and Oakwood this year, and they’re amazing to work with, and to just see the growth this program has has been awesome. We have ten questions. They get four minutes on each question to work through. And we’re already seeing some awesome work here after question number one.
Thursday morning’s First Grade Math Challenge at Danville High School ran from 10 to 11 AM.
