Congratulations to student Eric Chen who has scored in the top 5% on the Mathematical Association of America’s American Mathematics 8 Competition. The examination in middle school mathematics provides an opportunity for students to develop positive attitudes toward analytical thinking and mathematics that can assist in future careers. “Our school has been participating for many years, and Eric’s score marks only the third occasion that a Port Jeff Middle School student scored at least 20 out of 25 questions correct [Eric scored 21],” said Eric’s math teacher Mr. Matt Garofola. “Eric has a natural aptitude for math and sees the connections between mathematical concepts at an extremely high level. He also has great persistence and will never give up when trying to find the solution to a problem.” The material covered on the AMC 8 includes topics from a typical middle school mathematics curriculum. Some topics include counting and probability, estimation, proportional reasoning, elementary geometry including the Pythagorean Theorem, spatial visualization, everyday applications, and reading and interpreting graphs and tables. Some questions also involve linear or quadratic functions and equations, coordinate geometry, and other topics traditionally covered in a beginning algebra course.