Sage Student Performs Well at The National MATHCOUNTS Competition

On Friday, May 6, Foxborough Sage School eighth grader Zachary Polansky of Dedham was one of the four representatives of the state of Massachusetts at the MATHCOUNTS National competition in Washington, D.C.  Zachary’s personal goal this year (it is his second participation) was to be in the top 12 students to qualify for the oral round.  Zachary finished in 10th place after the written round, qualified for the Countdown Round and finished in 5th place.  As a team, Massachusetts finished 7th place.

Zachary competed against 223 other Middle School students in this prestigious competition, which engages the best and brightest in Middle School mathematics.  Student representatives from all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam, U.S. Virgin Islands and the Department of Defense and State Department schools worldwide participated in the 2011 MATHCOUNTS National Competition.  To advance to the national competition, students not only had to place in the top four of their peers during their state competition in March, but they also had to advance through local and chapter-level competitions.

Dr. Lydie Labaudinière, Math Department Chair at Sage says, “What an amazing accomplishment! Congratulations, Zachary! The Sage School and Middle School Math Club in particular are very proud of you.”

Zachary also received an honorable mention on the 2011 Junior USAMO (United States of America Mathematical Olympiad) list.  This year approximately 230 top (mostly high school) math students from the United States and Canada were invited to participate in this competition.  Zach is the only person from the New England area to receive an honorable mention.