B Session

Click here for more pictures from the B-I session.

Click here for more pictures from the B-II session.

The A Session Concludes

Last week, we said goodbye to our A session students. On Friday, we held championships in Mental Math, 24!, and cumulative class material.

In the A-I class, Brian C. took the Champion award for Mental Math, barely besting Kelechi U. Brian C. continued his winning streak and defeated Henry S. for the 24! title. In the team challenge, Calvin B., Melehisedec L., and Alex K. came away in second place, putting up a good fight against Jason Y., Katie K., and Mason H. who won first place. Finally, in the individual competition, Justin L. won third place, Brian C. won second, and Jason Y. won first.

Click here for more photos of A-I's final day.

The competition was also close in the A-II class. An action-packed game yielded B.J. K. the winner of the Mental Math competion, who bested Destene V. B.J. also won the 24! competition, although Srinidhi B. put up a good fight for the championship. In the team competition, Cindy Q. and Han C. nailed a close second, but Sean C., Ajay W., and Andre L. clinched the team championship. In the individual competition, George H. won third place, Tommy K. won second, and B.J. K. once again came in first.

Click here for more photos of A-II's final day.

Chess Challenge

Did you know that in our A-III class, we have a nationally ranked chess player? Today, Richard Yang faced off against multiple students in our A-I and A-II classes at once in an intense simultaneous exhibition. Students brought along their own chess sets, and sat in a circular fashion. Richard would go to a student, make one move, then move on to the next student repeatedly until all games are finished.

Although our students played great games, Richard defeated each of his opponents. Avid Academy thanks Richard for providing this fun opportunity to the students.

For more pictures of the chess tournament, visit our Picasa Album.

PICTURE DAY TOMORROW

To sessions A-I, A-II, and A-III:

Avid Academy Math Olympiad Summer Camp PICTURE DAY is tomorrow! Please wear your camp t-shirts that you received today for the picture!

A-I: Days 3 - 6

Summer Camp sure is flying by!

On the third day of Math Olympiad Summer Camp, our A-I students learned about the mathematician Leonhard Euler, who figured out how to add all the numbers one through one hundred in thirty seconds when he was only a child! Using his method, we learned to add large amounts of counting numbers quickly and effectively. We also began to learn the Rubik's cube. Please see this helpful website for a complete solution for the Rubik's cube.

On the fourth day, we encountered competition level counting problems. You may think learning to count is not difficult, but it is a very tricky topic! Our students learned a methodic and complete way of counting to ensure their success on future math competitions. We then took a California Math League test, in which students took the test in their fall grade level. Our students did exceptionally well, even considering they haven't seen the material in which they tested yet! The fourth graders averaged 16 our of 30, and first place went to Calvin who scored 25, second place to Michelle H who scored 22, and Neil who scored 21. The fifth graders averaged 21 out of 30, and Kelechi scored first place with 28 correct answers, Jason placed second with 25 correct, and Brian scored third with 24 correct answers. Congratulations students!

On day five, our students learned to solve algebra-level problems using the Singapore picture model method. Dr. Li gave students examples of several different types of tricky word problems that can be tackled with this method. Then we did some Math Magic, where Teaching Assistant Dale read the students minds! The students picked a secret number, performed several calculations upon it, and then told Dale their resulting number, and she was able to guess the student's numbers each time! Dr. Li performed a similar trick, guessing the students' birthdays after they performed certain calculations on it. Finally, he taught the students a magic card trick.

Today, on day six, the students had their first encounters with geometry and geometric problem solving. Dr. Li gave each student a Tangram set, a set of seven shapes that can be positioned to form several shapes. They used these shapes to solidify their concept of areas and geometric spaces. Then Dr. Li shared his Zome collection, where the students learned to form tetrahedrons and three-dimensional shapes of all kinds! Visit our Picasa account for pictures of the students making tetrahedrons.

Fun Numerical Fact

Today, for the first time in a century, it was 12:34:56 07.08.09. Share this fun fact with your friends!

Rubik's Cube!

Tomorrow, Avid Academy Summer Camps will teach all students how to solve the Rubik's cube. Tonight, it may be helpful for students to review this complete, easy-to-follow solutions guide before attending class tomorrow.

See you tomorrow!