Jaeger Zollman wins top spots
COEUR d'ALENE - If you challenge Jaeger Zollman's knowledge, be prepared.
The 13-year-old is going to bring it - in a big way.
A Coeur d'Alene Charter Academy seventh-grader, Jaeger keeps winning the top spots in academic competitions.
How does he do it?
"I pay attention," Jaeger says.
He also reads a lot, and regularly practices solving math problems with the MATHCOUNTS team at Charter Academy.
Jaeger took the top spot in the regional MATHCOUNTS competition for middle school students held earlier this month at North Idaho College, bringing home the highest individual score of the 60 students who participated.
His team from the charter school placed second to Sandpoint Middle School, and will head to Boise in March for the state competition.
It's just one of several contests Jaeger will participate in next month.
For the second consecutive year, he will represent the Coeur d'Alene School District at the regional spelling bee set for March 20 at North Idaho College.
He won the Charter Academy's spelling bee for his grade each year, and continued on to win the district spelling competition.
As part of Charter Academy's science bowl team, Jaeger will compete March 6 in a model hydrogen car competition at the University of Idaho.
He is particularly proud of his performance on this year's American Mathematics Contest 8 (AMC 8), an annual competition offered to students in sixth- through eighth-grade throughout the nation and around the world.
AMC 8 challenges students to solve problems involving algebra concepts, geometry, number theory, counting methods, probability and other areas of basic math.
Of 230 Idaho students who took the test last fall, Jaeger received the highest score of 17.
The average number received by Gem State middle school participants was 9.2.
He hasn't decided on a career or college path yet, but he knows one thing about the university he would like to attend.
"I want to go someplace warm, like Hawaii or Florida," Jaeger said.
He usually spends about an hour each night on whatever homework he doesn't complete in study hall, and another two hours each week practicing his saxophone.