Mathletes and Latin Scholars Compete Beyond The Point

(above) Cardigan students traveled to Massachusetts for the annual Deerfield Math Competition

For those who love a good intellectual challenge, tests and quizzes aren’t the dreaded end result of weeks of studying. Rather, they are an exciting opportunity to test one’s knowledge, a celebration of all one has learned. And while most tests rank scholars against their classmates, Cardigan’s students also have the opportunity to see how they stack up against other students their age locally, nationally, and even internationally. Most recently, students of Latin and math both engaged in competitions beyond The Point with some impressive results.

The National Latin Exam, sponsored by the American Classical League and the National Junior Classical League, is given every year between the end of February and the beginning of March, and over 100,000 students take the exam in over 20 countries. It consists of 40 multiple-choice questions on a range of topics, including Latin grammar and vocabulary, and Ancient Greek and Roman history and culture. 

The students at Cardigan take the exam at three different levels: intro, beginner, and intermediate. This year, 33 students took the exam, and six students won prizes. For the Beginning Latin Exam, Davis Jamison ’24 won a cum laude award (fourth place) and Jesse Whiting ’26 won a magna cum laude award (third place). For the Introduction to Latin Exam, Jayden Oh ’24 and Angelo Chu ’27 both won a maxima cum laude award (second place), and Eric Lee ’25 won a summa cum laude award (first place). Great job, boys!

Then in April, nine Cardigan students traveled to Massachusetts for the annual Deerfield Math Competition, whose goal is to form “a community of students with shared enthusiasm for the art of problem solving.” Grayson Aston ’25, Daniel Rhee ’25, Jaiden Lee ’25, Max Gerbut ’24, Jayden Oh ’24, Souta Kidosaki ’24, Sunjoon Lee ’25, Yujin Minemura, and Daehwan Kim ’25 all participated in the event for students in grades six through nine, with other schools including Eaglebrook, Bement, Lesley Ellis, Stoneleigh Burnam, and Wilbraham and Monson. 

The daylong event allows mathletes to use graph paper, rulers, protractors, and compasses, but books, calculators, slide-rules, and all other computational aids are prohibited. After completing two 45-minute individual rounds in the morning, all mathletes then participated in a 45-minute team round followed by a final hour-long team round. 

What a day of math! Souta earned an individual third place overall in the individual relay round; Yujin came in fifth in that same round. The Cardigan Constants team (Daniel, Jayden, Souta, Yujin, and Daehwan) tied for third place in the team general round and took fifth place overall in the team rounds. Great job, Cougars!