Sardis finds a few good counters at MathFest

GAINESVILLE - Sardis Elementary in Hall County was looking for a few good counters Saturday during its first-ever MathFest competition.

More than 100 kids from first through fifth grades subjected themselves to timed math problems in hopes of earning one of 45 spots to the state competition March 29th in Atlanta.

Last year Sardis sent a team to the state competition but because of late entry status had to pick the participants. S.E.A.R.C.H. coordinator Margie Reed said they wanted to open the competition to everyone who wanted to take part.

"You have to give these kids a lot of credit to put themselves in a stressful situation like this," Reed said. "We thought this would be the most fair way and a fun way to do it. They did a great job and everyone got a gift bag for showing up."

While most people would think that quiet, focused attention was required, Reed said the state competition is "a madhouse, with kids crying and parents talking" and wanted to emulate that atmosphere during their competition.

"We had to remind the parents, who were more nervous than the kids, to make noise and try and create some distractions," Reed said. "It's crazy at the state competition and we wanted the kids to perform under the same conditions."

Sardis will take more students this year than last, which could increase their chances at placing students in the top 17, which receive prizes.

"We didn't take as many last year because we didn't know we could take that many," she said.. "We will take the top nine students in each grade plus five sixth graders who were at Sardis last year in the fifth grade. I think we can do pretty well. We had two kids in the sixth grade finish in the top three and a first grader who placed fifth last year."

The competition was held by grade-level with each participant starting out with five cards that were taken up for each wrong response. Participants were eliminated when they ran out of cards until the top nine were left.

The nine top participants then went to the second round to determine the winner's in each grade.

Reed said they are hoping to see even bigger numbers next year.

"We were excited to see so many kids wanting to take part in a competition that was academic and not sports related," Reed said. "I think this will be the start of something for a long time and grow each year."