A team of six Woodlands Academy of the Sacred Heart students competed against students from other Chicago area Catholic high schools in Division A at the Archdiocese of Chicago math competition held Feb. 1 at Loyola University-Chicago. The contest, sponsored by the Mathematical Teachers Association of Chicago and Vicinity, is open to all Archdiocesan high school students. 

The Woodlands Academy “MathCats” team of juniors Tareneh Ragerdi Kashani, Maggie Glunz, Emmy Seliga and Maya Whiteman, and freshmen Juliette Hopman and Eloise Li won two fourth-place honors in their division. One was an overall award determined by combining the scores from the “MathCats” individual and team tests. Woodlands also earned fourth place in the team event based solely on its scores from the team competition. 

Individual honors included Ragerdi Kashani, whose perfect test score earned her a first-place trophy.

The Archdiocese of Chicago math contest, held annually since 1967, takes place at the end of Catholic Schools Week, which celebrates Catholic education in the United States. Daily themes during the week typically include recognitions of local parishes, communities, students, faculty/staff/volunteers and families.

Woodlands Academy is a Catholic, independent, day-and-boarding, college-preparatory school for young women of all faiths in grades nine through 12. Founded in Chicago in 1858 and located in Lake Forest since 1904, it is part of a worldwide network of Sacred Heart schools that spans the United States and 40 other countries on six continents. Woodlands Academy is rated the 2025 #1 Best All-girls High School in Illinois by Niche, an independent research company. This is the eighth consecutive year Woodlands has received this ranking from Niche.