Poly’s Middle School Plays to Win at March MATHness

Polytechnic’s Middle School students recently swapped basketballs for calculators in the inaugural March MATHness competition—a week-long celebration of math skills, friendly rivalry, and team spirit.

 

Spearheaded by eighth-grade Math Teacher Nicole Luque, March MATHness drew inspiration from both the traditional excitement of March Madness and an idea she encountered in an online math educators’ group. "I thought of how this event could be adapted for the Poly Middle School," Nicole explained. "The IXL interactive learning platform is already used across all three grades, and we realized it could provide a perfect foundation for a competition."

 

Each grade’s math teacher carefully curated a list of 20 new math skills, blending current classroom topics with important review concepts. Students competed to complete as many skills as possible, aiming for a SmartScore of 80 or higher on each one. Participation was optional—but Poly students rose to the occasion with enthusiasm. In fact, six students managed to complete all 20 skills in just one week!

 

Sixth grade, however, stole the spotlight, not only winning the overall competition but also earning the highest participation rate across the school.

 

Kevin Hughes, sixth-grade math teacher and an ardent March Madness fan himself, was instrumental in rallying his students. "I introduced March MATHness to the sixth graders by emphasizing that this was a rivalry they could win," he said. "In many school competitions, sixth graders are at a disadvantage, often going first while older students watch and learn. This time, the playing field was level. I hardly devoted any class time to it, so the victory is entirely thanks to the hard work and dedication of the students."

 

For students like Isaac L. ’29, March MATHness was more than just a contest—it was a personal challenge. "Honestly, I had a great time participating," Isaac said. "At first, completing 20 IXLs seemed daunting, but once I put my mind to it, it became a lot easier." His early completion of all 20 skills even motivated his classmates to push themselves further.

 

Isaac hopes that beyond the skills they sharpened, his peers learned the importance of teamwork and perseverance. "In a team competition like March MATHness, every student’s participation matters," he shared. "And the skills we practiced—word problems, graphing, even topics like quadratics and parabolas—will really help us in our algebra classes and beyond."

 

At the end of the week, the top five students from each grade received certificates honoring their achievements, and the sixth-grade victory was celebrated at a middle school morning meeting. March MATHness showed that math can be exciting and fun, and it left some students asking for a rematch next year!