By While the first priority to a ninja is to win without fighting, the second priority is to master multiplication skills — at least for the Number Ninjas of O.M. Tiffany Elementary School.
Tiffany teachers Michaela Waiflein, Jenna Huck and Kathryn Blocker started the new after-school club last semester. It’s for third- through fifth-graders. Tiffany is serving as the pilot school.
“This year, it was only O.M. Tiffany Elementary School. Next year, the plan is to have 10 to 12 local and surrounding area schools participate,” Huck said.
The club is meant to prepare the students for MathCounts in later grades. MathCounts is a nationwide extracurricular math program for grades six through eight.
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“This is a great club to have students become excited about math and prepare them for the middle school and high school MathCounts where the coach Dena Sievers has had several local students compete at a national level,” Huck said.
Number Ninjas members at O.M. Tiffany can earn different colored belts as they master different math skills. Courtesy photo.
Once a week, 30 Number Ninjas gather to work toward mastering their multiplication skills. With each skill mastered, they earn a different colored belt, similar to the martial arts. To master a skill, the students take a timed multiplication test. If they are able to correctly answer 40 questions in a minute, they earn a new belt.
There’s also an awards ceremony involving the presentation of new headbands, and each practice ends in a group chant, Huck said.
Students who are participating in Number Ninjas this year will be able to go to Holgate Middle School and compete in a math competition with sixth-, seventh- and eighth-graders.
The club is supported by 3M and is being led by 3M engineer Adam Buckhouse.