Pilot Point Middle School sends three to state math meet

Three Pilot Point Middle School math and science team students are headed for the state competition April 16 in San Antonio.

Seventh graders Caleb Holloway, Nate Brown and Elijah Young qualified for the 3A competition after top performances at regional meets. Brown earned first place at the regional meet March 5 in Pilot Point.

“I see a lot of self satisfaction when they compete against other students and win an award. I think it’s a self esteem thing,” math teacher and team coach Sheri Woodall said. “If you work toward the high school UIL level, it looks good for scholarships and on resumes.”

The students will compete against approximately 3,000 other students in San Antonio. It is the second year the school has sent students to the state competition. They will test their knowledge on seventh and eighth grade math including algebra and on multiple science disciplines.

“You never know what type of science you’re going to get, so you have to be proficient in all of them,” Brown said. “We’re just really interested in these topics.”

The team competes in competitions on weekends and studies on their own time after school.

“There’s a chance in high school for scholarship opportunities, and it’s not a boring experience. It’s fun,” Brown said.

“I enjoy math and science, so it doesn’t ever bore me at all,” Holloway said.

Woodall said students on the team learn skills that aren’t taught in regular math classes.

“They appreciate learning new stuff that their classmates don’t know, some of the number sense tricks and just having a heads up so that their regular math class seems easy compared to what we do here,” Woodall said.