Posted July 7, 2015

Students and teachers from 26 Catholic grade schools in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia ranked nationally in this year’s First in Math competition.

The sixth and seventh grade students of St. Laurence School in Upper Darby ranked first among the archdiocesan parish and regional elementary schools. The school also ranked second among the 1,000 competing schools in Pennsylvania and fifth among 5,000 schools in the United States.

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An awards ceremony June 9 at St. Laurence School recognized winners in five categories including various levels of competition in the region, state and the nation. This year, 20 archdiocesan elementary schools placed in the national top 100 schools in the math competition, which uses the 24 Game to reinforce arithmetic skills.

Additionally, St. Martin of Tours School in Philadelphia (an Independence Mission School) had the fourth place educator nationally. Mother of Providence Regional School, Wallingford, joined St. Laurence School in the top 20 nationally for the First in Math team category.

Dr. Robert Sun (a 1962 graduate of St. Francis de Sales School, Philadelphia) invented the 24 Game in 1988. In 2002 the game expanded and moved to the Internet under the title First in Math.

The online program begins Aug. 1 and ends April 30 each year. Students compete within their school, with other schools in the archdiocese, with over 1,000 schools in Pennsylvania and more than 5,000 schools nationwide.