Congratulations go to the following students who received the top scores in this year's Continental Math League (CML) competition: second graders Grace Andreasen, Sophie Leslie, Karina Minanov, and Spencer Warezak, third grader David Scupholm, fourth grader Alexander Minanov, fifth grader R.J. McCarren, sixth grader Caleb Cimmarrusti, seventh grader Jeffrey Woolstrum, and eighth grader Katarina Goitz.

The Continental Math League is a nationally sponsored mathematical competition. Hundreds of schools and thousands of students around the country participate. Students are challenged to solve six difficult problems in thirty minutes. Each correct answer is worth one point. The problems are designed to encourage students to use a variety of problem solving techniques in the areas of mathematical and visual problem solving.

This was the third year that Academy students in grades 2-8 have participated. Grades 2 and 3 have three meets while grades 4-8 have five meets. The top scores at each grade are sent to the CML headquarters in New Jersey.

"The world of math is changing," said 4/5 teacher Wendy Demartini, who, as Curriculum Coordinator, brought the CML competition to the Academy several years ago. "It used to be that rote repetition of math facts was considered to be the goal of math instruction. In today's world, math instruction focuses on the understanding of concepts and then applying those concepts to solving real world problems." Wendy also pointed out that the students practice for the meets and that "the real learning occurs as students share their problem solving strategies and meaningful conversations take place."