Numbers for lunch

Mary A. Castillo

If someone gave you three to five seconds to figure out in your head

what 58 times 526 was -- could you do it?

A team of four sixth-graders at Mesa View Middle School are in

training to do just that and more.

Led by coach Pat Murphy, the team -- Piero Remedios, Chris Murphy,

Garret Shinn and Kelly Self -- have been coming in twice a week during

lunch to drill in mental mathematics, estimations, logic and

construction. They will compete with more than 500 students in the 2002

Mathematical Field Day this Saturday.

When asked if he felt good about the upcoming competition, Piero said,

“I could use more time.”

“He’s our rookie,” explained three-year field day veteran Chris

Murphy.

The problems are tough but possible, Garrett said, as he piled

notebooks on a gum drop structure the team built using just the candy and

toothpicks. At the competition, the team will receive instructions and

materials to build a similar project within 45 minutes.

“We won’t know what the construction project will be until we get

there, but the kids have a lot of fun,” she said.

On the other side of the room a group seventh-grade students munched

on pizza while Carol Lu walked them through a geometry problem. Lu is

another coach helping to prepare the team that will go to the 2003 Math

Counts competition at UCI.

“I enjoy bringing them into new territory that they haven’t

experienced yet in class,” she said. “It’s rewarding when they find the

world of math fun.”

There are no qualifying tests that the students must go through to

join the team. Some students are encouraged by their teachers, others

sign up because they simply enjoy math. Although students at Mesa View

have a variety of clubs and programs to choose from, the members of the

Math Counts team are consistent attendees of the lunch period sessions,

said Lu.

To prepare, students run through algebraic expressions and equations,

number theory and solid geometry.

“Someone once asked Mrs. Lu if they could stay beyond the time period

because regular math is too slow,” said Susan Biegel, a volunteer whose

son Anthony is preparing for Math Counts. “This group really enjoys

coming in.”

In spite of giving up lunch, the team agreed that practicing for

academic competitions doesn’t get in the way of having a life.

“I’ll do my problems with my regular math homework and some warmups at

night,” explained Crystal Briones. “If I budget my time I can get

everything done.”

* MARY A. CASTILLO is a news assistant with Times Community News. She

can be reached at (714) 965-7177 or by e-mail at o7

mary.castillo@latimes.com

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