Middle schoolers win big in math competition

Spokane middle school students know their math. And, they proved it at the MATHCOUNTS competition, recently held at Northwood Middle School.

The St. George’s team, Justin Heftel, Kashif Ravasia, Erin Kaya and Taryn Stamper, placed first and qualified for the state competition March 21 at Microsoft in Redmond, Wash. Northwood placed second; Sacajawea received third place; Lakeside was fourth place; and Garry placed fifth.

Individual awards went to Heftel, who took first place; Daniel Rahn, of Northwood, took second place and qualified for state; Jacob Frederick, of Sacajawea, received third place and also advanced to state; Ravasia placed fourth; and Kaya took fifth place.

Hutton class writes for success in competition

Sixth-grade students at Hutton Elementary know their literature.

Five students in David Rolando’s class displayed their knowledge in the Letters About Literature contest and were recently judged at the state level, where the five students became level 1 finalists, the highest level of achievement for grades four through six, according to a press release from Rolando.

The national reading-writing contest requires students to write a personal letter to an author, explaining how the author’s work has changed their way of thinking about the world or themselves.

Students in Rolando’s classroom demonstrating their composition know-how were Ermek Danielson, Hanna Fasholtz, and Aiden Hoefer, all receiving honorable mentions, and Margie Davey and Brady Stone, both becoming semifinalists for their letters.

Only 61 students reached the level 1 status at the state level. Over 54,000 letters were entered nationally, 2,379 from Washington.

Letters About Literature is sponsored by the Center for the Book in the Library of Congress, in partnership with Target Stores.