Hillsborough ties for third
By:John Patten
Hillsborough High School’s "math-letes" five students who hone their skills for interscholastic competitions formed the core group of young mathematicians that earned the school a tie for third-place honors in the state math competition.
The math-letes Eric Koo, Brian Koo, Michael Abuschinow, Michael Stein and Tianyi Li were honored at the Jan. 12 Board of Education meeting for helping the school place third at the 28th annual Mathematics Contest for New Jersey Secondary Students, held Dec. 1.
Maria Szijj, the school’s math supervisor, said 74 Hillsborough students participated in the competition, in which the students tackle a 15-question written test.
The top five scores are then added for the school’s team score.
Hillsborough was behind Governor Livingston High School in Berkeley Heights and Princeton High School, and tied with Maplewood’s Columbia High School. Hillsborough has placed as high as second in the competition in 1996 and finished third in 1995 and 1998, according to Dr. Szijj.
The math-letes led the way for the Hillsborough challengers, thanks in large part, Dr. Szijj said, to their weekly math workouts and challenges against other schools.
They’ve been tuning up their math skills since October, when they took fourth place in a competition at Seton Hall University.
But Dr. Szijj stressed Hillsborough’s success and strength isn’t based solely on the five math-letes. Unlike most school math teams, where a small number of students score significantly higher than most on competitive tests, Hillsborough students tend to be grouped more closely, she said.
After receiving a round of applause from the school board last week, the students were dismissed in order to return to their studies.
"I was going to suggest you go home and work on some English and science classes," Superintendent of Schools Robert Gulick told the students, "but I guess Dr. Szijj wants you to keep doing math, too."