On Saturday, Nov, 4, math faculty members Sherry Amaya and Chad Fularz held a COMAP High School Mathematical Competition in Modeling (HiMCM) contest for SSA students. Twelve students participated in the 36-hour modeling competition: freshmen Jason Vasko, Nancy Wang and Jason Wu, sophomores David Liang and Qingqing Zhao and juniors Cathy Chen, Connor Leemhuis, Leo Liu, Johnny Lu, Peter Wang , Emily Zhang and Charles Sherk. Working in teams of four, the students worked to find solutions to a real-world problem. Participants from all over the world submit their solutions to COMAP for judging, and awards will be announced in the spring.

On Monday, Nov. 13, Shady Side Academy hosted the second math meet for the Mathematics Council of Western Pennsylvania's Senior High Math League. Faculty members Sherry Amaya and Michele Ament officiated the competition, which consisted of two individual rounds and one team round. The SSA team participants included freshmen Jason Vasko and Nancy Wang, sophomores Arusha Nirvan and David Liang and juniors Cathy Chen, Connor Leemhuis, Leo Liu, Peter Wang , Emily Zhang and Charles Sherk. Visiting schools included Fox Chapel, Trinity Christian and North Allegheny. Shady Side is looking to repeat its first-place finish from last year. The next competition is scheduled for Dec. 11. Students interested in future competitions should see Ms. Amaya and Mrs. Ament.