'Wrap-Up' teaches math, helps St. Mary kids learn multiplication

St. Mary Parish students got to practice their multiplication facts in a fun way Monday during a parishwide contest.
The St. Mary Parish School Board 11th annual Multiplication Learning Wrap-Ups Contest was held Monday at the St. Mary Parish School Board Materiel & Operations Center in Morgan City.
“Many of the kids were having trouble with multiplication facts, and the teachers requested that they do something in addition to learn those facts,” St. Mary Parish School Board Title 1 Math Instructional Specialist Sharon Brown said.
Years ago, Brown attended a teachers’ in-service meeting, during which one of the teachers presented on the math wrap-ups competitions, she said. Math wrap-ups cover multiplication, addition, division, subtraction and fraction, but the school system chose to just focus the contest on multiplication because students were having the most trouble with that activity, Brown said.
The contest consisted of students wrapping a card with a string while learning multiplication facts. Students multiplied the number in the middle of the card by the numbers on the left side of the card and wrapped the string around the correct answer on the right side of the card, Brown said.
The students who competed Monday won on their school levels in the third, fourth and fifth grades, Brown said. Twelve students participated Monday, though the parish contest has had as many as 20 competitors in prior years, Brown said. “But some of the schools are doing additional things so they don’t have kids that are participating,” Brown said.
Students from Centerville, J.A. Hernandez Elementary, LaGrange Elementary, Hattie Watts Elementary and Patterson Junior High participated Monday’s contest.
First-place winners included third-grader Laci Walker of Hattie Watts Elementary, fourth-grader Alhaezha Proctor of J.A. Hernandez Elementary, and fifth-grader RonAsha Lumpkin of Centerville. Each first-place winner received a bicycle.
Second-place award-winners included third-grader Ahraiah Menendez of J.A. Hernandez Elementary, fourth-grader Eris Robinson of Hattie Watts Elementary, and fifth-grader Chasity Stansbury of Patterson Junior High. Second-place winners received a $50 gift certificate to Meyer’s Shoe Store.
Third-place award-winners were third-grader Jarret Foulcard of LaGrange Elementary, fourth-grader Trinajah Williams of Centerville, and fifth-grader Ondraniek Rhine of J.A. Hernandez Elementary. Third-place winners received a $30 gift certificate from Skipper’s Sporting Goods.
Finishing in fourth place was fourth-grader Amircle Tillman of LaGrange Elementary. She received a basketball from Scelfo’s Sporting Goods.

This story was written by Zachary Richard of The Daily Review staff. Reach him zfitzgerald@daily-review.com.