As Park’s math team prepares for their upcoming competitions, they practice their teamwork and building up their community. They also practice work from previous competitions and solving complex problems to prepare.
Math team president senior Jacob Ignatowicz said his favorite part of math team is the environment of the team and how welcoming the team is.
”My favorite part about the math team is it’s a very welcoming environment,” Ignatowicz said. “I also appreciate the opportunity to work on problem solving abilities.”
Math team advisor Kristin Johnson said she loves to see the team build strong comforting bonds with each other and that grows the team
“I love seeing my students working together solving problems,” Johnson said. “These problems are very complex, so it’s important in math, but also in life.”
Senior Saul Zis said he loves his connection with the team that makes good team work
“My favorite part of the math team is working with my friends and solving the problems with them,” Zis said. “Teamwork is one of my strengths. I love helping my teammates solve problems that they are stuck on.”
Johnson said she gives them questions that can further expand their learning to get them ready for their meets.
“The problems from past competitions can give them an idea of what to expect for these competitions and what to study and work on,” Johnson said. “It’s a good way to study, but they know that the question can sometimes be similar, but there won’t ever be a question like the last.”
Ignatowicz said, math team gives him an opportunity for him to not only work on stuff for the competition, but also gives him a place to talk about things he is doing in school, and he can use both together to get his work done.
“I like to think about what we’re doing in school and applying that to other situations, and apply what I learn in math team to help with my school work,” Ignatowicz said.
Johnson said their team meets are going well because of how connected her students are with each other. She said if they keep their strong bonds, the team will go far.
“My students are very connected and they have a strong bond with each other, and because of that they work really well with each other bringing success to our team,” Johnson said. “Our team meets go really well, some people struggle in some individual meets, but whenever someone has a not so good performance, their teammates are always there to pick them up.”
Zis said he is looking forward to their next meet, and he can’t wait to use the two to three weeks of practice at their next meet. He said he is confident that his team will do well.
“As a group, we meet together every week, we usually have two or three weeks to prepare but I try to study and prepare on my own,” Zis said. “We always do well at team meets, and we work well together so I know that we will do well.”
Math team meets at 3:20 p.m. on Mondays in room B330.
