DURHAM CATHOLIC DISTRICT SCHOOL BOARD
Students Shine in Mathletes Competition at St. Joseph Catholic School in Uxbridge

On Friday, November 8, St. Joseph Catholic School in Uxbridge hosted its inaugural Mathletes competition, with enthusiastic participation from Grade 3-8 students. Students in Grades 3-6 participated in a series of hands-on mathematical questions, and intermediate students in Grades 7-8 were team leaders to support their younger peers. The competing students worked in teams to complete as many answers as possible. Their goal was to reach a collective number of 4,000 correct answers by the end of the day.

In preparation for the Mathletes competition, students developed their math skills with their educators during class time. The math questions featured various games, including word problems, shape-related tasks, and tangram puzzles. Some students said that before the competition, math was not their strongest subject. Now, after having participated, they are more confident and find math enjoyable. "I used to think word problems were really hard, but now I can picture the questions in my head, and I can solve the questions on my own," said Samantha, a Grade 6 student. "I feel like my confidence in math has really improved because the Mathletes competition helped make math a lot easier for me to understand and remember."

The Grade 7 and 8 students underwent leadership training so they could assist students with the math questions and encourage positive attitudes throughout the competition day. "Overall, the team I was leading was very positive and they were happy to learn math," said Mason, a Grade 8 student. "It's a great learning experience for younger students. The competition teaches them to have confidence in themselves and their teammates, and it also gets them excited to learn new math problems."

The Mathletes competition enriched the learning at St. Joseph Catholic School, and is in alignment with Inspire 2026, the Durham Catholic District School Board's (DCDSB) multi-year plan. "One of the key goals in the DCDSB's 2024-2025 Student Achievement Plan is to enhance students' math learning and achievement," said Dan Allen, DCDSB Board Math Lead. "During the Mathletes event, intermediate students gained valuable leadership experience as team leaders, while younger participants strengthened their confidence and teamwork through a series of fun, hands-on math activities."

The event would not have been possible without the support of the St. Joseph Catholic School community. "We are so excited about the success of this competition. We'd like to give a special thank you to our Catholic School Council for helping fund our first Mathletes event," said Rita Whale, Principal of St. Joseph Catholic School in Uxbridge. "Additionally, we'd like to thank all the students, staff and teachers involved. It was a whole school effort, and we couldn't have done it without everyone's help."

The inaugural Mathletes event concluded as a massive success. The participants surpassed their goal of 4,000 questions by completing 5,485 correct answers in one day!

Learn more about the Mathletes competition by watching the video here.