By Taylor Bush

Bainbridge High School values the importance of challenging students in their academic courses. Extra academic practice, however, is provided by academic clubs such as the math club.
The math club was resurrected in the fall of 2013 after two years of being idle. BHS is excited to have students involved once again.  This year, the club consists of seven students in 10th, 11th, and 12th grade. The math club accepts any and all high school students who are interested in furthering their math skills. Mark Phillips and Joseph Kelly, teachers at BHS, serve as the sponsors for the club. The sponsors conduct all practices and attend math competitions with the students.
Math Club holds an hour long meeting, or practice, after school every Monday. At these practices, members of the club are given challenging math problems to solve independently or often together. These problems are examples of questions that the students will be given at the math competitions for which the students train.
In the 2013-2014 school year, the math club attended five competitions in the state of Georgia. This year, the club will attend twelve competitions. These competitions test the knowledge and speed of club members with difficult math problems and timed rounds. The time and accuracy with which the problems are solved decide the score the student receives which is then calculated into the team score.
Students involved in the math club claim that it is a great way to improve their math skills. Kiara Clark is an 11th grade member of the club and says, “Math club helps me prepare for my SAT and ACT tests. It has helped me raise my math grades in school, too.” BHS encourages students to get plugged in to the math club for these reasons. The SAT and ACT are important tests for high school students, and any math practice would be beneficial to those students who plan to take these tests.
Bainbridge High School supports the efforts of the math club students and anticipates a great year for the club. Hopefully the club will continue to grow as it has this year.