JACKSONVILLE – One. Two. Three. Four. Math Counts! It really does!

Some students aren’t enamored with math, but in a time when technology is advancing more rapidly than ever before in human history, the need for expertise in the STEM subjects is greater than ever. Math Counts has the goal of engaging and rewarding students for their enjoyment of and proficiency in the mathematical disciplines.

On Feb. 28, many junior high schools from northeast Florida converged on the University of North Florida’s Adam W. Herbert University Center to decide which individual students and teams would take home awards and go onto the state competition.

Green Cove Springs Junior High’s math team looked to test their mathematical mettle against their numerical nemeses from the other schools.

Coaches John Steiner and Denise Dunlap accompanied their team members, Kathryn McNeil, Chao Tran, Samuel Nye, Tyler Tesdall, Derrick Newton, Peyton Matthews and Daniel Masterson to the event.

Steiner teaches geometry and algebra. Dunlap teaches honors algebra.

“I have been involved with the Math Counts program for about six years now,” said Steiner. “I got involved because it’s a supplement position at our school and I’ve always loved math and coaching student with those types of questions. I wanted to get hired for that spot as a coach and I did, so I’ve been with it ever since.”

“Likewise, I love math; I love seeing the kids, how they take problems that aren’t typical math problems that require higher-level thinking and how they work through them and process them and some of the ways they share with us what their thinking is, is just amazing,” said Dunlap.

The math team meets for an hour once a week after school to practice and prepare for competitions.

“Normally, I will bring up the math counts website and they will look at some of the questions they’ve posted as resources because they will be questions that have been in math counts competition at one point or another,” said Steiner. “Then Math Counts provides us with a resource book as well and they practice.”

“We work the problems while they work the problems, without looking at the answers,” said Dunlap. “We don’t tell them how to work the problems.

Math Counts events are held all over the country and annually in Jacksonville. Teams from Lake Asbury Lakeside, Oakleaf, Orange Park and Wilkinson junior highs also participated, as well as St. Johns Country Day School, which finished fourth and earned a trip to the state tournament in Jacksonville on March 20.

Green Cove Springs fields a team every year and has had differing levels of success.

The competition is an amazing display of mathematical expertise from the students involved.

The day began with individual and team math tests. The results of the tests are the beginnings of placing the competitors. Following the testing, students were provided lunch before being welcomed.

Most people aren’t finished reading the question before these whiz kids are already buzzing in with their answers.

Questions ranged from arithmetic to geometry, algebra, fractions and decimals.

“I think it’s all about making it [math] relatable to the student,” said Steiner. “Once they can see how it's going to affect their life, you can get that engagement going.”

“Math affects every facet of our life. Just getting them to see that it's more than just the high-level technology; it’s our everyday lives,” said Dunlap.

Throughout the day, students battled through various rounds, finally ending in the countdown round, during which the top ten students faced off, two at a time until the final student earned the championship.

Green Cove Springs finished 11th of 45, but the experience should only make them stronger for the future.

River City Science Academy finished as the number one overall team with four of the final 10 mathletes.