Fairfield County Kids Getting Ready For This Year's Mathnasium TriMathlon Contest

Will Raise About $37,000 for Schools Nationwide and Demonstrate Math Can Be Fun

Students Earn Money for Local Schools with Each Correct Answer

Darien, September 30, 2013 – Fairfield County students are getting ready to test their math skills while raising much needed funds for local schools.

Mathnasium's TriMathlon contest is designed to show kids that math can be fun. Children at all levels of math ability are invited to participate. In addition to winning trophies, all students who participate this year will earn money for local schools with every correct answer. The winner at each grade level will be entered into the national TriMathlon, with the chance to earn larger school donations.

The competition, open to 2nd through 5th grade students, will be held at 3 pm on October 19th at the Darien Mathnasium learning center at 15 Corbin Dr, Darien, CT 06820. Participation is free.

“The Mathnasium TriMathlon represents a wonderful opportunity for kids to have fun, test their math skills, and earn money for local schools. It demonstrates that math can be fun and, at the same time, provides a way for the students to give back to their community, which is a wonderful lesson for kids at this age.  In the Mathnasium TriMathlon, every child is a winner!” said David Lubner, owner of the Mathnasium of Darien, Fairfield & Greenwich franchises.

The TriMathlon consists of three events:

·         Magic Squares, where students are awarded points for developing their own math problems.

·         The Counting Game, which tests students' ability to count from any number, to any number, by any number.

·         Mental Math Workout, which asks students to solve problems without a pencil and paper in order to show off their “number sense.” 

The contest is open to all students in grades 2 through 5 in public, private, or home school. Students do not need to be enrolled in a Mathnasium class to participate. Prep materials, including a practice test, are available on the Mathnasium TriMathlon website (www.mathnasiumtriathlon.com), where students can also register.

Participants will have money donated to local schools for every correct answer on the TriMathlon test either through the website DonorsChoice.org, which allows schools to select whatever they need with donations accruing toward those items, or via direct donations. Mathnasium is targeting an aggregate nationwide donation of about $37,000, which includes the national prizes.

The 1st place winners at each grade level will be invited to move on to the national TriMathlon, where the national champions will be determined based on their local test scores. If needed, tiebreaker tests will be held at the winners’ local Mathnasium locations the following weekend. Prizes of $1,000, $500 and $250 will be awarded to local schools on behalf of the 1st, 2nd and 3rd place winners at each grade level.

All participants, regardless of how they place on the exam, will receive a free downloadable game from Lakeshore Learning Materials (retail value, $19.99) together with other prizes and certificates of participation. National winners will receive Lakeshore gift cards.

For more information on the Mathnasium TriMathlon for students in the Darien area, please contact David Lubner, owner of the Darien, Fairfield & Greenwich Mathnasium centers, at 203-655-MATH (6284) or darien@mathnasium.com.

About Mathnasium

Mathnasium, the nation’s leading math-only learning center franchise, specializes in teaching kids math in a way that makes sense to them. Students go to Mathnasium year-round to catch up, keep up, and get ahead in math. The proprietary Mathnasium Method™ is the result of 40+ years of hands-on instruction and research. Franchising since 2003, Mathnasium has become one of the fastest growing educational franchises, with a new center opening each week. There are more than 400 Mathnasium franchises in the U.S. and abroad. www.mathnasium.com

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