The Mt. Ararat High School Math Team is off to a great start, with a first and second place to their credit so far. Contributed

It’s all adding up for Mt. Ararat math team

The Mt. Ararat High School Math Team has had a strong start this year, according to teacher-coaches Carmen Palmer and Courtney Reichert.

In the Pi-Cone South regional meet held Oct. 2 against seven other regional schools Mt. A hosted, the 16-member team placed first. The team placed second in the meet held Oct. 30. The Pi-Cone South schools next meet will be Dec. 4.

Team members include Grace Trebilcock, Zander Chown, Luke Curnin, Jace Hollenbach, Michael Kane, Sterling Kloberdans, Caden Kowalsky, David Neufeld, Luke Spooner, Anna Cox, Caroline Thompson, Alexa Eaton, Morgan Temple, Daniel Jackson, Riley LaPointe and Trinity Versey.

In addition to weekly practices, the team competes against other schools in five meets during the school year, followed by a statewide competition in April. These meets test students’ skills and understanding of various math topics in geometry, trigonometry and pre-calculus, according to the coaches.

Scores are posted on the Maine Association of Math Leagues website maml.net/schools.htm and the Pi-Cone South Math League website at pi-cone.org/mathhome.asp.

“Although participation on the math team requires commitment and hard work, the payoff for being a member of the math team is great,” said Palmer and Reichert in a press release. “The exposure to such a variety of advanced math topics prepares students not only for short-term goals, such as performing well on the SATs, but also for more long-term goals of pursuing careers in the various mathematics-based fields.”

Brunswick student releases first album

Pearl Stuart, a 17-year-old Brunswick High School senior, released her first album this fall.

Stuart

“Be My Star” is eight tracks long, with writing, vocals and production all by Stuart. The album follows a summer romance from beginning to end and, in its entirety, is “a 27-minute long immersive look into a teenager’s first experience with love and loss,” she said in a prepared release.

“You Think I’m Cool” explores an obsessive crush and the disappointment that comes with unrequited love, while “Necklace” is “the angry and defeated breakup song that no album is complete without,” Stuart said.

“I tried to make the lyrics as specific as possible because I think it’s important for music to have real emotions and memories attached to it in order for it to be meaningful.”

“Be My Star” can be found at linktr.ee/pearlstuart.

Stuart said she’s been in school choirs for as long as she can remember and first began writing songs when she was still in elementary school.

In the midst of her last year of high school, “I’m very excited to go to college and get a look into the industry that I hope to be a part of someday,” the singer-songwriter said. “I’ll definitely be making more songs and albums in the future. My goal is to have singing/songwriting be my profession.”