As second semester continues, Math Club is stepping up to the plate. They are starting to participate in the prestigious math competitions that come up. According to David Liang, club officer and junior, there will be a few new events that will take place during second semester.

“Right now we are preparing for the competitions that will take place later on. To prepare, when the members come in, we will have practice tests for them to do,” Liang said.

According to Liang, there will be several competitions taking place throughout the rest of the year, including competitions such as the Mandelbrot and the American Math Competitions (AMC) events. Math Club sponsor Dan Perdun said that if the students want to do well in the competitions, they will have to prepare the right way. Greater Testing Concepts offers two contests at the high school level. The Mandelbrot Competition is a test in a short answer format and spreads its rounds through the entire school year. Only the best of the best can participate in it. The AMC competition is a series of tests where each have different skill levels. The first is the AMC 8, followed by the AMC 10 and finally ends with the AMC 12.

“When you’re in a competition like Mandelbrot, there’s no way you can beat the other kids without practice. You’re going to have to be well-prepared,” Perdun said.

But according to both Liang and Perdun, the club will continue to have fun when they are studying and doing practice tests so the members will not get bored and get too stressed out. According to Ryan Jou, Math Club member and freshman, the club is a great way to practice math and have fun at the same time.

“Even though it sometimes gets boring and all we do is math, we occasionally have fun. One time, we started throwing M&M’s across the room,” Jou said.

Although though the members know that there will be more challenges coming in second semester, they still find time to relax and have fun.