PEA RIDGE — The fifth-grade math classes at Pea Ridge Intermediate School set the bar high for the up-coming years. At the beginning of the 2009-2010 school year, the students were challenged to do extra math problems. Not just a few math problems, but approximately 1,500 of them.

With the exception of the last five or six weeks ofschool, most of the work would be done on the students’ own time. The students were informed that they would have to pass, with 80 percent accuracy, 182 objectives. This group of fifth graders wereup for the challenge.

As a whole, they gave their best effort. The class completed 156,077 additional math problems with the students working upuntil the end of the year. It was a delight to watch the students scan their cards and sprint to the office to get their scores and their next practice. Forty-three students met the goal of 182 objectives and were also awarded a special trophy for their efforts.

These students were Kamden Boyd, Averee Cassick, Britton Caudill, Diego Contreras, Timothy Cribbs,Damita Davis, Elizabeth Erwin, Tanner Flippo, Jason Frater, Hunter Gaston, Shay-Lee Grantham, Morgan Guyll, Rylie Hickman, Holliday Dava, Jaylee Kelley, Garrett King, Melissa Landis, Easton Lane, Nicholas Lay, Berkeley Mardis, Brooklyn McAllister, Jasmine McGinley, Hailey Nesbitt, Krystle Parmenter, Hailey Powell, Bryce Prince, Dacoda Richardson, SamuelSalmonsen,Brooklyn Sizemore, Mariana Soto, Nathan Spencer, Shane Ted ford, Chandler Tidwell, Jacob Torres, Joseph Truesdell, Megan Turner, Tyler Wallace, Rett Watson, Wyatt Weber, Sara Whatley, Rachel Wood, and Cole Wright.

Two students, Rylie Hickman and Garrett King, took the challenge a step further by completing the5th and 6th grade objectives which amounted to approximately 5,000 additional math problems which qualified them for the bubble wrap award at the end of the year.

Math teachers Dorcus Duvall and Joshua Johnson thank the 2009-2010 5th graders for meeting the challenge and making it an honor to be your math teachers.

Sports, Pages 9 on 07/21/2010