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Senior Drummers Hit a High Note as Winners of Spread the Math Love Contest

Posted 10/14/2019 by Ellen Fishpaw (@ellenfishpaw)

Cheltenham High School computer science teacher Sarah Putterman, and the school’s marching band, pulled a fast one on senior drumline members Nate Norward and Jeffery Gaskin before band practice on the football field.

At the start of practice, the band director sent the boys back to the band room to retrieve something he pretended to forget. Putterman and the “TI Prize Patrol” arranged for balloons spelling M-A-T-H and the marching band to shout “surprise” when the boys returned. Nate and Jeffery were surprised to learn they were selected from more than 1,000 entries as winners of our nationwide Spread the Math Love Contest, honoring math heroes.

Cheltenham High School senior Jeffery Gaskin, computer science teacher Sarah Putterman, and senior Nate Norwood showcase the Texas Instruments (TI) technology they won.

WATCH A VIDEO OF THE SURPRISE: HERE.

“I immediately knew I wanted to nominate these two boys when I heard about the contest,” said Putterman. In her submission, she wrote, “My motivation is exponentially better because of their energy and curiosity, and they inspire me to bring my best game to teaching every day.”

As part of their prize, the boys received a TI-Innovator™ Rover, a TI-84 Plus CE graphing calculator and a trip to Dallas with a family member to attend the Teachers Teaching with Technology™ International Conference (T³IC), March 13–15, 2020.

Jeffery Gaskin, a senior at Cheltenham High School, is being interviewed by a local news station about winning the Spread the Math Love Contest from TI.

“I’m excited; overwhelmed with joy,” said Jeffery Gaskin, a senior at Cheltenham High School outside of Philadelphia. “This was a good surprise,” said classmate, and co-winner, Nate Norwood.

Nate Norwood, a senior at Cheltenham High School, is being interviewed by a local news station about winning the Spread the Math Love Contest from TI.

While many students nominated their teachers in the Spread the Math Love Contest, Putterman nominated her students whom she knows from helping with the band and as former students in her AP® computer science class. “I know these boys, and I want to put my best foot forward with them,” she said. “I was constantly asking, ‘Like what else do you want? What else can we learn?’”

The seniors will show off their Rover skills and share what helps them get excited about learning programming and math during the T³™ International Conference. “This doesn’t happen to me a lot, so it is nice to be recognized for this,” said Nate.

AP® is a trademark registered by the College Board, which is not affiliated with, and does not endorse, TI products. Policies subject to change. Visit www.collegeboard.org.

About the author: Ellen Fishpaw is the Media Relations and Communications Manager for Texas Instruments Education Technology. Before joining TI five years ago, Ellen was a broadcast journalist for 13 years, working at television stations across the country, from North Carolina to New Mexico. She most recently worked for NBC 5 in Dallas as a crime reporter before hanging up the microphone for a TI-84 Plus CE. Follow her on Twitter @ellenfishpaw.

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