Math Olympiad to expand, thanks to parents
By Catie Foertsch Community Reporter

Westborough - The Westborough schools have a flourishing Math Olympiad program in kindergarten through grade six, but graduating sixth-graders were looking at the end of their Math Olympiad careers, as no program currently exists at Gibbons Middle School.

On June 20, parent Mark Anderson, representing the parents and students of the very successful "500 Watt Bulbs," the sixth-grade Math Olympiad team, presented a novel idea to the School Committee: continue the program in seventh grade, and parents would pick up the tab.

The School Committee approved the proposal, and also approved a new name for the 500 Watt Bulbs: the Westborough Middle School Math Olympiad Team.

Math Olympiad is a national program whose purpose is to stimulate enthusiasm for math. Worldwide, 101,256 students on 4,581 teams participate. In the Westborough schools, 224 students participate. In the spring, the sixth-grade team competed against grade seven and eight teams and placed in the top 10 percent internationally. Eight sixthgrade team members were ranked in the top 8 percent of seventh- and eighthgraders internationally.

Grade four Math Olympiad students were ranked in the second 10 percent in the nation. In kindergarten through grade three, second-grader Ethan Huber and third-grader Eric Nie received perfect scores in all three tests in a national contest. According to Assistant Superintendent Marianne O'Connor, Westborough's participants were 52 percent male and 48 percent female.

Anderson came to the School Committee as a representative of the 500 Watt Bulb team's parents and 25 students. Because no team existed at the middle school, Anderson said, the parents and students worked together to establish an independent after-school program that will be funded and administered by parents . By gaining recognition as an official Westborough team, he said, the team will be able to bring home trophies inscribed with their new Westborough team name.