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A  fun way for Middle School students to explore more advanced math

Recently our Middle School MATHCOUNTS team (Sophia Darling, Dominic DiFrancesco, Max Ellis, Shaheer Fahad, Jack Gilbert, Rebecca Lee, Roman Novy-Marx, Maxwell Sun, David Villani, and Alexander Wasley) represented The Harley School at the MATHCOUNTS Chapter Competition held at RIT.

Middle School math teacher Lee Allen coaches the students, who have been training weekly throughout the school year on Friday mornings. Our students competed individually and cooperatively on a variety of math problems against middle school teams from Monroe County to the Pennsylvania border.

Maxwell Sun finished first overall in both Individual and Countdown Round scoring, and was the only student out of well over one hundred entrants to achieve a perfect score. This was the third straight year he has won the entire competition!

MATHCOUNTS at RIT

MATHCOUNTS at RIT

MATHCOUNTS Team

MATHCOUNTS Team

Maxwell Sun

Maxwell Sun

David Villani finished fourth overall in both contests, a personal best. The Harley competition team comprised of Max Ellis, Roman Novy-Marx, Maxwell and David finished second overall to perennial favorites Calkins Road MS, and will advance to the State MATHCOUNTS meet to be held in Troy, NY on March 17th.

At The Harley School, our team has been in existence since the late 1980’s. The program runs all year and provides students the opportunity to hone skills, challenge each other (in a friendly way), and have the opportunity to participate in the meets.

It is also a way for Middle School students to explore more advanced math; or, as coach Allen says, “This is a place for kids who love math to feel at home.”

About MATHCOUNTS

The MATHCOUNTS Foundation is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that provides engaging math programs to U.S. middle school students of all ability levels in order to build confidence and improve attitudes towards math and problem solving. Middle school students exist at a critical juncture in which their love for mathematics must be nurtured, or their fear of mathematics must be overcome. MATHCOUNTS provides students with the kinds of experiences that foster growth and transcend fear to lay a foundation for future success.

For more than 30 years MATHCOUNTS has provided enriching, extracurricular opportunities to students and free, high-quality resources to educators. Every child is unique, but we believe all children are capable of seeing the beauty and joy of math, whether they come to us already passionate about math, or intimidated by it.

There are many paths to math. We work to ensure that all students discover theirs.

Students may create independent studies with supervising teachers throughout their Upper School experience or, during Grade 12, they can design Capstone projects—intensive collaborations with Harley faculty and off-campus mentors—involving rigorous academic study and culminating in public presentations. They are empowered to create their own curriculum, set goals, and work on time management skills in order to accomplish their objectives.

Independent Studies run the gamut from The Psychology of Sports to Furniture Design to The Neuroimaging of Alzheimer’s Disease. Capstones, meanwhile, are as diverse as the students who pursue them: Fictional Rochester, Autobiographical Art, Biomimicry Education, Organic Fuel, and Rochester Refugees. 

Indicative of Upper School curiosity and creativity, pursuits such as these distinguish our graduates in college. Through deep dives of this sort, Harley students master more than speaking, writing, and computing: they learn to communicate, advocate, collaborate, organize, listen, and empathize. 

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Letter from the Head of School

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Features

Central Work that Matters

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Climate Crisis Curriculum

Citizen Scientists

Joy Moss: Storytelling Roots

In Every Issue

Class Notes

Diane Donniger Award

By the Numbers

From the Archives

What’s (Who’s) New at Harley

Divisional Highlights

Alumni Profile: Vandebroek

Alumni Profiles: Keller

HAC Athletics

2021 Lives of Great Purpose Awards

1000 Words

Commencement 2022

Reunion 2022

In Memoriam

Retirements and Fond Farewells