Sumdog

Oct 20, 2022

TribLIVE's Daily and Weekly email newsletters deliver the news you want and information you need, right to your inbox. A fourth grader at Hartwood Elementary School District channeled her inner “mathlete” to earn a near-perfect score in a nationwide math competition. Charlene “Cici” Xu recently scored in the top 1% of all 26,524 students who competed in the online national Sumdog math competition in September. Cici, 9, answered 978 of 1,000 math questions correctly. “I feel proud. I always try and improve. I’ve done a lot of these,” she said. “I was really surprised to score that well nationally.” Fourth-grade teacher Leah Rea noted Cici has been a top finisher in the Sumdog competitions the past two years. “Cici is a busy girl, and she spends a lot of time practicing. It’s very special, and I’m super proud. She worked really hard to get this,” Rea said. Rea’s class finished in the top 10% overall in the competition, which is held three times a year. Sumdog online math contests are free and offer adaptive learning and multi-player games aligned to key state standards for grades K-8. For Cici, math is a daily enjoyment and her favorite subject. “My parents say, ‘Why don’t you go to bed right now?’ ” Cici said about her habit of staying up late to practice math problems on a mobile device. She’s the daughter of Michelle Yang and Wesley Xu of Indiana Township. An only child, Cici has a pet cat named Mickey. Cici said if Mickey could talk, he would say, “Congratulations, my sister” on her math accomplishment. An accelerated math student, Cici is studying fifth-grade level math. She credits a math board game, 24, that she often plays with her grandparents, for honing her math skills. Prime numbers are especially enjoyable, Cici said. Joyce Hanz | Tribune-Review Charlene “Cici” Xu, a fourth grader at Hartwood Elementary School in Indiana Township, scored in the top 1% of all 26,524 students who competed in the online national Sumdog math competition in September. She answered 978 of 1,000 math questions correctly. In third grade, Cici earned the nickname “Divisibility Queen” because she was quick to memorize everything, Rea said. “I think knowing math will help me when I grow older because I’m thinking of being a teacher when I grow up,” Cici said. Joyce Hanz | Tribune-Review Fourth grader Charlene “Cici” Xu plays 24, a math game, with her teacher, Leah Rea. Cici scored in the top 1% of all 26,524 students who competed in the online national Sumdog math competition in September.