On January 5th, 25 talented mathematicians from 7th and 8th grade kicked off the new year by attending the Berkeley Mini Math Tournament in Beijing. Despite having many other responsibilities, these dedicated students attended every practice Ms. Yan held so that they could represent SHSID well in the competition.

The competition itself consisted of four parts: individual, team, speed, and puzzle rounds. The 25 participants performed well in all of the events! In the individual round, Joey, Maxwell, Lucas, and five other students placed among the top 50 in China, with Eric earning 7th place. In the team round, two teams from SHSID tied for 4th place. The best results, however, were achieved during the speed round; Eric and Lucas’s team received 2nd place and Max and Daniel’s team received 3rd place. The last part of the competition was the puzzle round, which is typically the most difficult event. The puzzles tested the students’ ability to apply their critical thinking and logical reasoning skills. Faced with this challenge, Max and Daniel’s team worked together to accomplish an impressive feat: ranking 8th among all Chinese teams! Overall, two of the SHSID teams scored in the top 10 out of more than 100 teams from all over China.

In this competition, SHSID students displayed a deeper understanding of mathematics and ultimately earned glory for their school. All the student participants expressed excitement about getting better at math and scoring even higher next year. We wish them all the best in the future!

(Written by 8(1) Lucas Wu Edited by Hannah Bush Pictures by Yan Jie)