Whiz Kid: The Numbers Always Add Up for St. Michael's Wyatt McCarthy

Remember back in middle school math class, when you had story problems about trains moving in certain directions at certain speeds, and you had to figure out what time and spot the trains would cross? Good times, huh?

Well it is a good time if you are Wyatt McCarthy of St. Michael, a fourth-grader at Big Woods Elementary. He is the reigning District Continental Math League champion and he loves complicated story problems.

Continental Math League – or CML – is a problem solving competition where the students are given six questions to solve in 30 minutes. The competition questions are not related to specific units in curriculum, but are complex story problems that put into practice the operations and strategies learned in Everyday Mathematics. Medals are awarded at the end of the year for the top students in each grade and certificates are awarded for the top four students per grade. There are five competitions for fourth grade. 

Wyatt is a stellar problem solver and demonstrated this by answering 29 out of 30 questions correctly. He is also the District CML Champion. 

What is Wyatt’s secret of success?

 “I really like to try to figure things out”, Wyatt explains, “I don’t give up till I get the answer. I always want to do my best.”

Wyatt’s teacher Marcie Harrison agrees. She is the Big Woods Challenge Math, Enrichment and Response teacher. 

“I have had the pleasure of working with Wyatt McCarthy for the past four years, and having him in Challenge Math. He has fantastic problem solving skills and is a conscientious student. This is the first year we have awarded a District Champion, but this is the second year that Wyatt has won the CML contest at Big Woods. Students like Wyatt make teaching Challenge Math fun!”

Wyatt’s parents, Tim and Janet McCarthy, and sister Allie – a sixth-grader at St. Michael-Albertville Middle School West – are proud of Wyatt and hope his love for math continues through life.

“It really just comes natural to him, “Janet explains, “I’m an accountant so I understand numbers, but I don’t always understand his new math. Sometimes he either has to figure it out himself, or wait to ask Mrs. Harrison!”

The McCarthys have nothing but the highest praise for Wyatt’s challenge math teacher Marcie Harrison and STMA schools.

“I wanted to emphasize how much Wyatt's success in math is due to Mrs. Harrison, his challenge math teacher and the whole Big Woods School. Last year Mrs. Harrison said typically they like to see an eight point increase in the MCA's for math, but Wyatt's grew 24 points. I think much of that is because of the great educators at Big Woods. His homeroom teacher, Mrs. DeLozier, has also been incredible. She noticed his interest in Legos and engineering, and that is how he first learned about the Lego robot, through a challenge science class. I would say every teacher he has had at Big Woods and even at the Primary have been incredible. We have just loved this school district,” Janet said.

Wyatt enjoys other intellectual activities such as band, where he plays trumpet, and electives that focus on engineering. However his face really lights up when he offers to demonstrate his Lego robot car. He designed it using a kit, and programs it via his home computer. Wyatt has worked out the positioning so he can set the Lego car in a particular spot in the room and have it drive through itss coordinates. The vehicle goes up to, but stops short of hitting the furniture in the room as the family watches and anticipates the car’s next move.

The McCarthy family clearly enjoys being together and celebrating the many traits that make their kids so special to them. Allie plays hockey on the girls U12A River Hawks team and fastpitch softball with a previous . Wyatt also plays hockey on the Squirt B1 team, plays baseball on the Marlins Willie Mays baseball team, and football in the fall.

With two busy kids and Tim’s travel for work, the parents still manage to be at everything, with the help of involved grandparents. Wyatt holds up a picture of his prized fish that he caught with his Grandpa.

“That’s something else I love to do. Spend time with my Grandpa at his cabin.” Wyatt adds with a smile.

Should Grandpa ever need to know the answer to the question “If it takes 40 men two hours to build 20 sheds, then how long will it take five men to build 10 sheds?” well, he can just ask his math whiz grandson Wyatt.