Connecting to the world through math (EXTra CrEdit # 1)

Connecting to the world through math

MONTROSE- Excitement for math was in the air Wednesday, March 15, as local elementary school students tested their skills against thousands of other students around the world in a World Math Day competition. This day, more than 150 countries were taking part of a competition for students where they had a chance to go head to head against students from places such as the United Kingdom, Hong Kong and El Salvador via the World Wide Web. During each 17-question round, the students rushed to be the fastest to answer addition, subtraction and multiplication problems. World Math Day takes place every March 5. The main point of having this day is to unite the world through numbers. More than 1 million students from about 20,000 schools competed in the 24-hour competition, according to World Math Day figures. About 75 students competed Wednesday from Northside. Each student had a chance to compete for about 30 minutes. What made this more engaging for student was that after they would win by placing first, they would receive ten credits. These credits contribute to buying clothes for their character. Though the characters grab the students' attention, the ultimate goal is to answer as many questions as possible in the 24-hour period. Last year, Hong Kong had the most individual contributors, and two Hong Kong schools also held the top two places for school contributors. The UK was second for individual contributors with Portugal in third. The top 15 mathletes receive a special World Math Day trophy; all students competing receive a participation certificate. I thought this competition is very cool. Mainly because you get to compete with kids all around the world. Which could be very entertaining and competitive. Overall, I thought it was very interesting.
http://www.montrosepress.com/articles/2008/03/09/news/doc47cf6eaaeef1c679362852.txt