Math movies premiere at Metz

Cake, popcorn, sodas and bottled water were the fare at the red carpet premiere at Grace E. Metz Middle School on Wednesday night.

Student directors, actors, editors, camera operators, make-up artists, sound technicians and their parents were all on hand for the showing of the new math movies "Math Ninjas" and "Math Fact Feud."

The pupils said making the movies that showed how to deal with a negative in an algebraic equation and how to write math survey questions made math fun.

"I learned that you can use different ways to remember stuff,"said 12-year-old Alicia Hatch, who directed "Math Ninjas."

"I think it was fun because we learned different, new ways to get together to learn about each other," Alicia said.

Lauren Reed, 12, acted in "Math Fact Feud" and said she learned a lot from the two disciplines.

"You learn a lot of stuff about filming and about math," Lauren said.

Penn Jones III, 13, edited "Math Ninjas" and said he enjoyed working with others to produce the movies.

"We got to work together and learn to get along," Penn said. "It was really funny how we did all this stuff."

Grace E. Metz Middle School Principal Melissa Saunders said the program, led by Agatha Jenkins of MHz Networks, a Falls Church independent television station, got the pupils' attention.

"I think the best thing about this project is that it got our students interactive with math," Saunders said between on-camera interviews with the pupils.  "They really enjoyed the collaboration."

Jenkins thought the

project was twofold in its goals.

She hoped the pupils got more interested in math at the same time they gained some savvy about how audiovisual media works.

"Maybe they'll be a little more critical ... of the things they watch," Jenkins said.

Lisa Golden, whose son, Drew, directed "Math Fact Feud," said the project gave him a "broader understanding and how good it [math] can be."

"He had a great time,"  she said.

Keith Walker can be reached at 703-369-6751 or .