AHS math team tops among Fulton and Montgomery county teams

Amsterdam High School's Math League team had a rewarding year, topping three area high schools in the New York State Mathematics League for the second year in a row.

The Mathematics League is an annual competition that tests students' math skills, and each high school participates in six contests. Students have 30 minutes to answer six questions that can cover any topic from high school mathematics, through pre-calculus. Each contest includes at least two problems that require no mathematical knowledge beyond elementary algebra and geometry.

After six competitions during the 2008-09 school year, the Amsterdam team earned higher scores than Broadalbin-Perth, Canajoharie and Johnstown. Thirty-three Amsterdam students participated in the contests this year. The final results are as follows:

• First Place

  Megan Gaugler - 12th grade

• Second place

  Rob Sobkowich - 12th grade

• Third Place

  Louis Petrosino - 12th grade

  Dillan Rathke - 12th grade

• Fourth Place

  Chris Greco - 12th grade

  Adam Mihalek - 12th grade

• Fifth Place

  Joe Kaczmarek 12th grade

  Heather Graff - 12th grade

The goal of Math League is to build students' interest in mathematics by liberating them from the cookie-cutter style of regular tests and by challenging them to think creatively to solve mathematical problems. Students build confidence in their math skills by applying classroom lessons with intuitive abilities to solve the problems.

Math Leagues are held in states throughout the country, and more than 1 million students participate each year.