South Pointe student places 1st in international math competition

Grade 5 student, Christopher Nesbitt, recently placed first in the international online Grade 5 & 6 Caribou Math Contest for the month of April.

The contest, put on every month for students in Grades 2 – 12 by the online platform Caribou, saw 7,698 grade 5 & 6 students from 253 schools in 21 countries participate in the April contest.

Grade 5 teacher, LiseTrudeau-Balcaen has been offering the opportunity to participate in the monthly contests to all her students for the past four years.

This was the fourth monthly contest that Christopher has participated in, and the first one in which he scored a perfect 15 out of 15. When he found out he placed first, he was in disbelief.  “I was swimming at the time. My dad was texting with my mom and she told him that I had tied for first in the world. I didn’t believe it at first but then when I got home I checked the website and saw my name. I was very happy and we went out for ice cream as a family to celebrate. It was very fun.”

Christopher’s family aren’t the only ones celebrating his success. “It’s really great that he placed first. He’s smart and dedicated to try his best and I am so happy to see him be successful” acknowledged teacher, Lise Trudeau-Balcaen. “He’s always been a strong student, but this gives him that extra motivation to go further and push himself in his learning.”

In order to prepare for the competition, Christopher practiced by watching videos. “They always give you a hint before the competition – for example, for this contest the hint was unknotting, so I watched a lot of videos on unknotting to prepare” he explained. “They also have practice tests you can take. I always do at least one practice test before the competition.”

When asked if he is preparing to defend his title in May’s contest, Christopher’s response was a resounding “yes!”.

South Pointe is extremely proud of your accomplishments Christopher, and we wish you continued success!