Knightly News

The Episcopal campus was recently abuzz with a record-breaking 574 Mu Alpha Theta math competitors representing 35 schools. “We were the very first tournament of the year, so people were ready to compete,” says Episcopal Mu Alpha Theta club sponsor and Upper School math teacher Joan Moroney. This year’s crowd beat last year’s by nearly 100 students and will likely go down as one of the largest crowds on campus this year.

“It’s a community building thing,” says Moroney. “We’re going to have fun, build community, and yeah, we’re going to do a little math too.” Moroney and husband James Moroney spearhead the annual Episcopal tournament. The two actually competed in an Episcopal Mu Alpha Theta tournament when they were in high school, and are now happy to provide the same opportunity to today’s teens. With teens participating in a range of extracurricular activities, it’s incredible to have so many students spend a beautiful October Saturday taking math tests together. The massive turnout points to the fact that Mu Alpha Theta is building a strong community among participants. Moroney says the same is true throughout the state, where the organization is growing. Moroney and senior Miniya Malone serve on the state Mu Alpha Theta board, assisting with organizing the spring state tournament. As the interest in Mu Alpha Theta grows, more schools are participating. Episcopal welcomed several new schools and competitors to the recent competition, and Moroney says it was exciting to see that students traveled from as far as Caddo Magnet High School in north Louisiana to participate.

The sense of community among the Episcopal Mu Alpha Theta team and the Episcopal faculty was also on display at the tournament. Students assisted throughout the day, and 14 faculty volunteered their Saturday to lend a hand. The result was a well-organized tournament and numerous compliments on the beauty of the campus. “I think it’s something our club is really proud of,” says Moroney. “Our campus shines.”

Tremendous Planning = Success

Hosting an event of this size takes tremendous planning and attention to detail. Moroney and her team identified the Episcopal tournament date last April, and Moroney spent this summer writing the tournament tests. She says test writing is time intensive because she strives to balance easy, medium and challenging problems to ensure the tests are doable for competitors.

Once the tests are written, Moroney and her team of students make copies – a lot of copies. Each competitor receives a copy of the individual, team and interschool tests. With nearly 600 competitors, the copy machines are busy. Because this year’s crowd was so large, the planning team also had to secure additional test-taking areas. On tournament day, much of the Episcopal campus was used, including the gym, library, Academic Commons, cafeteria, Alumni House, student center and even the QUEST Center in Foster Hall. Once testing was complete, the awards ceremony was held in the main gym. “The gym did not hold us all,” says Moroney with enthusiasm. She says students filled the stands and even sat on the floor as the winners were announced.

Among this year’s winners were the Episcopal Middle School competitors. The Upper School students did not compete in order to focus on supporting their guests. Congratulations to the Middle School students who represented Episcopal well.  Congratulations, and a big thank you to Moroney and the team who kicked off this year’s Mu Alpha Theta competition season in an impressive fashion.

Episcopal Tournament Results

Prealgebra Individual

1st – Matthew Zhang

2nd – Vivian Silva

3rd – Jack Runge

Algebra 1 Individual

1st – Silvia Weng

5th – Dafi Weng

3rd Comp. Math 1 Team – Silvia Weng, Dafi Weng and Aryav Mehta

1st place Middle School Interschool

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