South Pasadena Middle School

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South Pasadena Middle School Math Students Shine

For 41 years, the South Pasadena MIddle School Math Team has actively participated in local, state, national, and international math competitions. Congratulations to this year's team of 144 students. Here are several of the highlights:
 
The Mathematical Association of America sent a Commendation of Distinction to seventh grader Nancy Liu and eighth grader Brett Chang for ranking in the top 1% in the AMC8 math competition. Liu and Chang also received a Certificate of Distinction for their high score on the 10th grade exam. 
 
Rocket City Math challenges students with three rounds of problem solving. The seventh graders ranked third in the country, and the eighth graders ranked first. Individually, Chang was first and Seojun Park 10th in the eighth grade. Liu was first and Violet Langhaar 13th in the seventh grade.
 
SPMS eighth graders ranked fourth in the state in the California Math League. Seventh grader Liu was third in the state with her outstanding individual score. 
 
Mathcounts is the most prestigious of middle school math events. The team of Brett Chang, Nancy Liu, Seojun Park and Alec Nudo placed first in the San Gabriel Valley chapter round. 
 
Sigma is a national math competition headquartered in Lincoln, Nebraska. More than 6,000 students from 125 middle schools were challenged over a five-month period.  SPMS sixth graders placed fourth in the nation, the seventh graders were first, and the eighth graders ranked fourth. The combined scores of the sixth, seventh, and eighth grade ranked fourth  in the U.S. Individually, Elliana Lou was ninth in the sixth grade, Liu was third in the seventh grade, and Chang was ninth in the eighth grade. 
 
Locally SPMS triumphed in several events. At the annual Alhambra Math Field Day, SPMS took the Sweepstakes Trophy as a result of outstanding performances by eighth graders Brendan Chew, Shaurya Nadkarni, Brett Chang, Seojun Park, Alec Nudo, Alan Liu, Karissa Oniciuc, Abigail Kim, Joshua Neely, Justin Kim, Deborah Chong and Gavin Bartolome. Seventh graders who excelled were Chung Sham, Matthew Li, and Nancy Liu.
 
At the Annual La Cañada Vanguard Math Competition, SPMS teams swept first, second, and third place. The first place team was Brett Chang, Brendan Chew, Seojun Park, and Kalea Plotnick. In second was the duo of Alec Nudo and Alan Liu. The quartet of Nancy Liu, Violet Langhaar, Patrik Wong and Isadora Cua placed third. 
 
Thank you to the SPMS Math Team coaches—teachers Eric Aispuro, Katy Chen, Allyson Wong and parent Tracey Ho. Go, Tiger Cubs!
 
For more information, contact: South Pasadena Unified School District, Office of the Superintendent, [email protected].