Eastlake High School hummed with excitement as the top math students from each elementary school in the Socorro Independent School District gathered to compete in the SISD 9th Annual District Math Bee on March 28.
Among them was Aria Molina, a fifth grader from James P. Butler Elementary. This year, she won first place for the first time after competing in the district competition for three years, demonstrating that her hard work and determination paid off.
“I'm feeling really proud of myself. I worked really hard for this. I practiced every day,” said Molina, who successfully answered three questions in the elimination round to secure the title.
The Math Bee aims to enhance math fluency and number sense for students in kindergarten through fifth grade while promoting numeracy and fostering a positive math community.
The competition includes multiple rounds in which students have only a few seconds to solve math problems using mental math and number-sense strategies to advance to the next round. The student in each grade level with the most correct answers is named the District Math Bee Champion.
This year’s competition included 180 students who qualified by winning their school’s math contest in their grade level.
Mateo Aguilar won first place in the fourth-grade contest at Campestre Elementary and also took first place at the Math Bee. He practiced at home and at school for the competition, which he said helped him become a math whiz.
He said his chances of competing in next year’s Math Bee were “really good” and he encouraged other students to join in.
“Just try your best and do whatever you can,” Aguilar said.
Carlos Berumen, SISD elementary math instructional officer, said the annual math competition begins in the classroom and extends beyond. The competition allowed students to apply their skills to real-world problem-solving.
“Because these skills that our young men and women are getting from kinder all the way to 5th extend more than the problems they're solving, the adversity, the challenges they face to get here and then past this point are things that our kids need in real life as well,” Berumen said.
Jennalise Valencia, a kindergartener at Myrtle Cooper, said she practiced counting in twos, fives, and tens on her iPad to prepare for the competition.
“I'm super proud of myself!” Jennalise Valencia said.
Her mom, Mikayla Valencia, said her daughter was “super excited” to represent her school and her kindergarten classmates at the event. She also said that preparing for the Math Bee has increased Jennalise Valencia’s interest in learning math.
“It's very important to me to know that the school is keeping her interested in the things that she's learning and that she is learning important skills that she'll use in her life,” Mikayla Valencia said.
SISD 9th Annual District Math Bee First Place Winners
Kindergarten
Mateo Alardin, O’Shea Keleher Elementary
First Grade
Sean Ferrer, Elfida P. Chavez Elementary
Second Grade
Gilbert Lopez, Horizon Heights Elementary
Third Grade
Carlos Munoz, Loma Verde Elementary
Fourth Grade
Mateo Aguilar, Campestre Elementary
Fifth Grade
Aria Molina, James P. Butler Elementary