COVINGTON, Ga. - Newton County School System students fared well at the recent 2019 Regional Middle School Math Contest held at Griffin Regional Educational Service Agency.

Newton County Theme School’s team took home third place honors in the Division I team competition and Veterans Memorial Middle School eighth-grade student Natalie Henderson won third place overall in the individual competition. The math teams and students competed against other middle school teams from Butts, Fayette, Henry, Lamar, Pike, Spalding, and Upson counties. 

The math contest includes a one hour written test followed by a group-ciphering event. According to Dr. Stephanie Gordy, executive director for Griffin RESA, awards for the top three teams in each division are based on a total team score comprised of the top four highest scores on the written test and the team score on the ciphering event. Competitive divisions are determined by school enrollment. 

“This year approximately 150 students participated from almost 30 middle schools representing the school districts from our area,” Gordy said.

The Newton County Theme School team was comprised of eighth-graders Elisabeth Kelly, Hailey Baker, Dhakiya Knights, Aliya Murphy, and Makayla Thrash and was coached by Ms. Mindy Alexander. Natalie Henderson and the Veterans Memorial Middle School team were coached by Mr. Tyrell Johnson.

“I am very proud of these students,” Dr. Nikkita Warfield, NCSS director of secondary education, said. “They definitely represented our school system very well at the Middle School Math Competition. I know they put in numerous hours studying and practicing for this competition so congratulations are definitely in order. They certainly represented Newton County Schools extremely well.”