Grade 7 Math Contest

	About four years ago, I started going to George Street Junior High School.  At that time, I had just reentered the public school system (I was homeschooled for two years due to bullying).  Due to this, I was quite nervous and apprehensive, and I didn’t feel that I would fit in very well; after all, most of the school year was over by this time.  However, one day, I was asked to go to the library for a sort of “Math Club”.

	When I reached the library, I found out that there was a math contest that they were preparing for; on that day, everyone was doing older contests to determine who would go to the competition.  I tried out the contests, and managed to do well enough to be chosen for the competition.

	Several weeks passed, and in the middle of May, we set out for UNB, where the contest was taking place.  Upon arriving at the campus, the students were split into three groups; there were different contests for each grade level.  As a whole, we Grade 7 students set off for the testing hall.

	Reaching the hall, we found out that the contest would start in roughly half an hour.  I picked one of the left-handed seats; there weren’t too many of those seats, but there were fewer left-handed contestants.  I then took the opportunity to talk to some of the other students; some were in it for the fun of the contest, some were hoping for prizes...and some were just there for the day off of school.

	Eventually, the contest began.  The problems were reasonably difficult, but I managed to finish them fairly quickly.  As it turned out, I was one of the first students to leave the hall, and I immediately set out for the Student Union Building to get some lunch.

	Despite my efforts, the line was still VERY long when I arrived.

	After a long wait (or so it seemed at the time), I managed to get some lunch.  With that done, I had most of the afternoon free to wander the UNB campus, and look at the various exhibits.  I found the Computer Science one quite interesting, and enjoyed the Math exhibit.  I also managed to get a free CD about the UNB campus...

	The time flew by quite quickly, and it was soon time for the awards ceremony.  With some difficulty, the teacher in charge of the George St. students, Mrs. Cook, rounded us up and got us all into one part of the auditorium.  We sat down, and waited for the awards to be presented.

	To my astonishment, I’d won first place for the Grade 7 category!  I went up to the stage, shook the hand of the UNB president, and received my medal.  Overall, it had been and extremely interesting day.