Moby Max Competition
By Joslyn Schrank on December 21, 2017
The Moby Max, an online math competition, was a huge hit at the Bridgewater-Emery middle school Dec. 4-7. The purpose of this contest was to make math fun for the students while helping them practice and increase their test scores for the upcoming spring.
“When I saw kids working on the bus, in the gym during games and during the lunch period, I was very impressed. I never imagined that they would allow their free time to be consumed by working on math problems. They, by far, exceeded my expectations and the expectations of other teachers,” co-coordinator Mrs. Berg said.
The Bridgewater-Emery middle school students competed against teams across the nation. For the local contest, the middle school boys competed against the middle school girls. Students spent every free minute they had online working on their math skills and competing. Countless hours were put into this competition by every student. Every day, the results were collected and announced to the students.
“I was amazed by the amount of time put in by the middle school students because of a competition. I saw success because everyone learned something or their memory was refreshed when we came to class the next day and discussed. As a teacher, when I see students succeed, it was a success,” co-coordinator Mrs. Schulz said.
The middle school teachers helped make this competition exciting and interesting for the boys, due to lack of their motivation to compete. Principal Mrs. Schultz along with middle school teachers Mrs. Berg, Mrs. Schulz, Mrs. Rayman, Mr. Burnham and Mrs. Carlson volunteered to take a “pie in the face” to help motivate the sixth through eighth-grade boys. The deal allowed the top two boys from each class to pie their “favorite” teacher in the face. Results from the top two boys in each class who can pie a teacher in the face Dec. 21 are sixth-graders Quinton Berg (221 minutes) and Korbyn Kayser (91 minutes), seventh-graders Sam Robocker (398 minutes) and Landon Acuna Popkes Hofer (117 minutes) and eighth-graders Jared Vinz (373 minutes) and Joe Kirby (188 minutes).
“I didn’t try super hard to be one of the top in my class until I heard that we were allowed to pie a teacher in the face. Then, I really stepped up my game,” sixth-grader Quinton Berg said.
The girls topped the boys in the local contest. For the national contest, the entire sixth-grade class placed fifth in the nation and the seventh and eighth-grade class placed sixth in the nation on the third day. On the last day, the entire sixth-grade class placed fourth in the nation and the seventh and eighth-grade class placed fifth in the nation. In total, the boys spent 11,928 minutes competing, while the girls spent 12,004 minutes competing for a total of 23, 932 minutes overall. Individual results overall consisted of Sierra Weber with 1,138 minutes and Jared Vinz with 1,150 minutes.
“You know in society nowadays, if you want to earn something, you need to work for it and be dedicated. You need to strive for greatness and reach your end goal; so I did,” eighth-grader Jared Vinz said.
Due to the outstanding competitiveness of the middle school, they received a pizza party sponsored by the Moby Max contest for placing in the top ten. The girls also received a pizza party for winning the local contest. A celebration will take place in the morning Dec. 21 to show appreciation to all the middle school students who participated and dedicated themselves in the four days of the competition. All students, middle and high school, will participate in the surprise activity.
“When I saw kids working on the bus, in the gym during games and during the lunch period, I was very impressed. I never imagined that they would allow their free time to be consumed by working on math problems. They, by far, exceeded my expectations and the expectations of other teachers,” co-coordinator Mrs. Berg said.
The Bridgewater-Emery middle school students competed against teams across the nation. For the local contest, the middle school boys competed against the middle school girls. Students spent every free minute they had online working on their math skills and competing. Countless hours were put into this competition by every student. Every day, the results were collected and announced to the students.
“I was amazed by the amount of time put in by the middle school students because of a competition. I saw success because everyone learned something or their memory was refreshed when we came to class the next day and discussed. As a teacher, when I see students succeed, it was a success,” co-coordinator Mrs. Schulz said.
The middle school teachers helped make this competition exciting and interesting for the boys, due to lack of their motivation to compete. Principal Mrs. Schultz along with middle school teachers Mrs. Berg, Mrs. Schulz, Mrs. Rayman, Mr. Burnham and Mrs. Carlson volunteered to take a “pie in the face” to help motivate the sixth through eighth-grade boys. The deal allowed the top two boys from each class to pie their “favorite” teacher in the face. Results from the top two boys in each class who can pie a teacher in the face Dec. 21 are sixth-graders Quinton Berg (221 minutes) and Korbyn Kayser (91 minutes), seventh-graders Sam Robocker (398 minutes) and Landon Acuna Popkes Hofer (117 minutes) and eighth-graders Jared Vinz (373 minutes) and Joe Kirby (188 minutes).
“I didn’t try super hard to be one of the top in my class until I heard that we were allowed to pie a teacher in the face. Then, I really stepped up my game,” sixth-grader Quinton Berg said.
The girls topped the boys in the local contest. For the national contest, the entire sixth-grade class placed fifth in the nation and the seventh and eighth-grade class placed sixth in the nation on the third day. On the last day, the entire sixth-grade class placed fourth in the nation and the seventh and eighth-grade class placed fifth in the nation. In total, the boys spent 11,928 minutes competing, while the girls spent 12,004 minutes competing for a total of 23, 932 minutes overall. Individual results overall consisted of Sierra Weber with 1,138 minutes and Jared Vinz with 1,150 minutes.
“You know in society nowadays, if you want to earn something, you need to work for it and be dedicated. You need to strive for greatness and reach your end goal; so I did,” eighth-grader Jared Vinz said.
Due to the outstanding competitiveness of the middle school, they received a pizza party sponsored by the Moby Max contest for placing in the top ten. The girls also received a pizza party for winning the local contest. A celebration will take place in the morning Dec. 21 to show appreciation to all the middle school students who participated and dedicated themselves in the four days of the competition. All students, middle and high school, will participate in the surprise activity.
