Devon Prep Mathletes Help ArchdiocesanTeam Defeat Philadelphia Public League

DEVON, Pa. - May 11, 2013 - PRLog -- Devon Prep’s Mathletes Team, under the direction of Math Teacher Mr. Chip Hollowell, took second place in the Archdiocesan Mathletes Championship recently with Sophomore Soham Bharne and Freshman Alexandru Damian scoring among the top point leaders in the Archdiocese.  As such they were both invited to represent the diocese in a competition against the Philadelphia Public League, which the Archdiocese won 100 – 42.

In addition to helping the Archdiocesan team beat the Public League, Damian, who, as a 9th grader was the youngest member of the team, also emerged with the highest individual score of the competition. Something he didn’t expect. “I was actually surprised,” Damian said. “There were a lot of really smart people there. I expected to score high but not the best.”

Mathletes is an interscholastic math competition among schools in the Archdiocese. Competitions are hosted monthly beginning in the fall and the locations and the topics vary. Each student is given problems to solve individually and as a team. Although the problems can be challenging Damian thinks working on them provides benefits beyond the competition.

“The problems they give you aren’t just direct applications of stuff you learned in school, like here’s the formula, here are some numbers, plunk them in,” he explained. “You can’t memorize your way out of this competition. But the skills you are learning in solving these types of problems, especially in areas of critical thinking and problem solving, will help you later in life.”

According to Mr. Hollowell you need more than mathematical ability to succeed in the competitions. “You have to have the ability, but you also have to be able to work well with others and you have to have motivation and the right attitude,” said the Mathletes moderator. “Successful students like Alex and Sohan have all these qualities.”

Devon Prep is a private, Catholic, college preparatory school for young men in grades six to 12, conducted by the Piarist Fathers. Devon Prep students hail from Chester, Delaware, Montgomery and Bucks counties as well as parts of Philadelphia. The school’s Main Line campus sits on 20 acres on North Valley Forge Road in Devon, PA. For more information contact Devon Prep at 610-688-7337 or visitwww.devonprep.com or www.facebook.com/devonprep.