Math Team Recruiting New Members

Math Team is about collaboration as well as individual work

Jadyn Murvine, Staff Writer

Many clubs are working to recruit more members after COVID-19 decreased club attendance. One club that has been making these efforts is Math Team. Despite having a large team in past years, they currently have a much smaller group of students. 

“[B]efore COVID, we had the largest competitive club in the school; we had at one time over 50 students on our roster,” said Dina Johnson, Math Team adviser. 

“Attendance has definitely been lower this year compared to past years. […] Since COVID, we’ve had a hard time getting people to come, said Sophia Vallejera, Math Team captain. This has impacted the team in multiple ways.

“It’s just hard at meets. The scoring is based on how many points you get, and it’s hard to get the points from correct answers when we don’t have a full team,” said Vallejera. 

The competitions consist of individual and group tests, and the lower number of people doesn’t enable them to get as many points as they could with a full team. While the meetings and environment are still fun and positive for participants, the decreased size of the team has taken a toll on the team’s ability to do well in competitions. 

Math Team meets once every two weeks on non-early release Wednesdays. “It’s just very low pressure, very informal. The meetings are very relaxed,” said Johnson. They do announcements and are given a packet of work based on the next meet’s topic and their grade level as practice and examples. Vallejera even noted that it’s a lot less stressful for her than normal in-school classwork. “It’s not a big commitment,” she said. 

Students may have seen flyers up in their math classrooms or heard teachers talking about Math Team. This is one way the club is attempting to recruit more members. 

“I’ve gone into some classrooms, [and] we’ve encouraged math teachers to put the word out before math team meetings. Our current math teamers have been reaching out to their friends to see if they wanted people to join,” said Johnson. 

Math Team members practice solving problems

Students and teachers alike enjoy participating in Math Team for more than just the academic side of it. 

“It’s fun to work with students that I wouldn’t have normally met through my math classes,” said Johnson. 

The team provides another opportunity to get to know peers and teachers with a common interest. 

“[I]t’s always been a good time. [You] should just come around and try it,” says Vallejera. 

As with any SCN club or sport, students may discover that they really enjoy something. It may be time for students to step outside of their comfort zone and try something new. 

As for Math Team, Vallejera says students can expect “just a lot of people who enjoy math, just having the time to hang out together.”