Waldorf Eighth Graders Win At Math Fair

(L-R) Waldorf Math Teacher Rebecca Soloway and Eighth Graders Michaela Zuber and Nikolas Bentel.

On April 4th, over 600 students from the Long Island area made presentations at the final round of the Al Kalfus Long Island Math Fair held at Hofstra University. Nikolas Bentel and Michaela Zuber, both eighth graders at the Waldorf School of Garden City, were awarded a bronze and silver medal, respectively.

"The competition involved researching and writing a paper on a topic in mathematics, presenting that research before judges in two rounds and answering questions posed by the judges," said Waldorf's math teacher, Rebecca Soloway. "Michaela's topic was Pascal's Triangle, and Nikolas' topic was the mathematics of braids. Both presentations were supported by their thoughtfully prepared display boards and models - several of their own design. We are all proud of their hard work and fine achievement!"

The Al Kalfus Long Island Math Fair is an annual competition sponsored by the Nassau and Suffolk County Math Teachers' Association as well as the New York Metropolitan Section of the Mathematical Association of America. The competition invites nearly 1100 students in grades 7 through 12 from Nassau and Suffolk counties to conduct independent research on a math topic that interests them. Once a paper is accepted by the review committee the students make a 15 minute preliminary round presentation to the judges. Students who make a successful presentation are invited to participate in the final round.