Math Scavenger Hunt Adds up to Fun

A group of Middle School students recently took to the courtyard to test their mathematical mettle as part of an after-school arithmetic scavenger hunt.

Middle School Math Teacher Robin Masters collaborated with Upper School Director of Studies Sven Carlsson and senior Kumiko Muro to orchestrate this end-of-year event celebrating the efforts of our Middle School Math Olympians all year long.

The scavenger hunt featured 10 clues—requiring a range of mathematical reasoning and computational skills—developed by Muro and Carlsson just for this occasion. Masters distributed the clues throughout the courtyard and divided students into teams before assigning each a clue to work on together. A correct answer would yield another clue, allowing all teams to competitively figure out solutions concurrently in the courtyard.

While competition was in the air, stumped students were given assistance as needed and some teams even helped one another with particularly challenging clues. All participants shared snacks prior to the event and enjoyed beautiful handmade pi cookies made by 7th grade student Allison Lo afterwards!

Reflecting upon this year’s team, Masters shared, “I am delighted to have been a part of our students’ math journeys. Additionally, it’s always a blast collaborating with Mr. Carlsson and such a treat to reconnect with Kumiko, who has grown into an amazing mathematician.”

When asked her thoughts, Muro offered, “As someone who did Math Olympiad in Middle School, I’m really grateful to have been able to help Mr. Carlsson and Mrs. Masters with this end-of-year event—I’m really glad everyone enjoyed it!”

Carlsson added, “This was the inaugural year of having a closing event for both of our MS Math Olympiad teams (the 6th grade team and the combined 7th and 8th grade team), and we were thrilled by the mental stamina and determination that students showed, tackling so many hard problems in succession. Echoing Mrs. Masters, it was also such a blast to collaborate with Kumiko, and I am so grateful for all she has done for the Math culture at Parker. And thanks to all the students who chose to spend a Friday afternoon tackling hard Math problems!”

Great work to all involved and you can share in the experience here.