F(x) =…? 

Every math student has been here. The numbers have made your brain numb and suddenly 2 + 2 doesn’t just equal 4 anymore. However, there are some students who have a magical gift of actually enjoying and succeeding at math. These are the students who are involved with CHHS’s undervalued math team. Originally led by math teacher Mr. Daniel Honigs, it is now led by his colleague in the math department, Ms. Darcy Lynch. 

The math team is similar to other academically-minded clubs and teams at CHHS such as Knowledge Bowl, Speech Team and Science Bowl. All of these groups focus on the competitive skills students have that don’t focus on or require athletic ability. This is important because skills such as logic and problem-solving  are just as important as catching the winning touchdown or sinking a three-pointer. Students on the math team also understand the importance of their experience and how it better prepares them for college and other academic related activities. This has a significant impact on the morale of students who are less athletic. When the only teams highlighted happen to be sports-related, it creates an unhealthy mentality that the only important things in life are physical. Activities such as the math team help fight that mentality.

“Students who have a passion for math now have a place with others to connect to and are able to find new ways to approach problems,” said Lynch.

It is important to note that the math team is not included in the Minnesota State High School League, but rather it has its own Minnesota State High School Mathematics League (MSHSML). This arithmetic-specific league has been sponsored by Augsburg University for more than 30 years. CHHS competes in Class AA, Section 5 of the MSHSML, along with neighboring schools DeLaSalle, Fridley, St. Anthony Village and Totino-Grace. However, CHHS also competes in a smaller division, the Metro Alliance, consisting of Heights, Benilde-St. Margaret’s, Fridley, Mound Westonka, Orono, Providence Academy and St. Anthony.

The math team continues to improve. In a recent match they scored 12 points higher than their average meet. Every student on the A and B team scored in said match as well. However, there is always room for improvement which could come with more participants.

“I think the Columbia Heights math team would be stronger if we had upperclass students (juniors and seniors) that joined the team, so we would have more help on the team problems and score more points,” said Maryan Muqtaar (10).

The math team typically competes in five meets per year. They are held at a variety of different schools, and there are four different events; two teams compete in each event. The AB team competes in events A and B, which are more algebra and geometry-related. The CD team competes in events C and D, which require higher level math such as pre-calculus or calculus. 

“One thing I like about the AB team and math team in general [is] there are other students you could work and solve problems with,” said Muqtaar. “I like math team because it is a challenge and an opportunity for me to excel [at] and compete with the subject I love the most.” 

In each event, the team must answer four questions in 12 minutes. In order to win at these competitions, the team must earn enough points to place. The final round is a math team event, which is made up of six questions for everyone on the team. This creates both individuality and teamwork in one place.

Math may not be many people’s favorite subject, but members of the math team are all in on arithmetic, geometry, and solving for “x”. The CHHS Math Team is an integral part of the Heights community; in addition to competing, they are also looking to subtract bad attitudes about math.