Brewster High School Students Hold 11th Annual Math-A-Thon

Written by Brewster High School senior Becca Seaman

On May 1, nearly 100 members of Brewster High School’s Math Honor Society, Mu Alpha Theta, gathered either at the high school or remotely from their homes to welcome dozens of third and fourth-grade students from CV Starr to raise money for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. While typically an event for third grade, fourth-graders were invited due to last year's cancelation because of the pandemic. Students attended a fun-filled half-day Zoom call packed with math activities and games run by Honor Society members.

“We weren't going to let a pandemic and our limitations stop us from having our event. It is so important to remind children that math can be fun. I think the CV Starr students and our members had a blast too!” said one of the club’s advisors, Laura Kesselman.

During the event, third and fourth-grade students engaged in math-themed activities under the guidance of their high school peers. They developed their math skills through workbook activities, played interactive math games like Kahoot, used pipe cleaners to build three-dimensional shapes, and even played a game estimating the number of different items in jars. The younger students also had the opportunity to be “Zoom bombed” by Math-A-Thon superheroes Octagon, Minus and Fraction.

In the weeks leading up to the Math-A-Thon, third and fourth-graders reached out to friends and family for sponsorship, collecting donations for St. Jude’s.

With the community's support over the last 13 years, the Mu Alpha Theta Math-A-Thon has raised more than $52,000 for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.

This year, the Math-A-Thon raised almost $5,000 online not including the cash and checks collected. Brewster High School Mu Alpha Theta members are looking forward to another successful Math-A-Thon next year.