Post by Charity on Jan 24, 2006 10:14:45 GMT -5
Home-schooled kids excel in math competition
E.J. Anderson
Special for The Republic
Jan. 24, 2006 12:00 AM
Dozens of junior high students created paper airplanes to fly through hoops, dropped eggs from a two-story building and remodeled a house all for the love of math Saturday.
Sponsored by Chandler-Gilbert Community College, the Excellence in Mathematics competition teaches budding young math wonders that there is more to math than just facts.
The competition, in its sixth year, is designed to motivate students, support local schools' math programs and get students excited about math at an early age, said Trey Cox, a CGCC math instructor who organized the competition. advertisement
The competition includes a test that could curl the toes of the most seasoned mathematician, math games and group projects.
One of the most exciting parts of the competition is the group project. Playing on the popularity of the TV series Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, four-student teams use their math skills to design a back yard with a pool and spa, estimate the amount of carpet, paint and blinds to buy and the best place to get it. Once the decisions are made, the design team has to provide a written explanation for the answers.
In the individual competition, students have 40 problems to solve including algebra, geometry, statistics and logic.
The winning seventh-grade team has the first perfect score, a first for the event.
"These are hard tests. They are not made to get a perfect score," Cox said.
"It was pretty cool to do the test," said first-place winner Josh Steel, 12, who along with three siblings has been home-schooled.
Josh spends about an hour a day doing math. Once a week, he spends time with Veritas, a home school group with math tutor Pam Woodbury.
Home-schooled students excelled in Saturday's competition. Of the six individual winners, three students were Veritas home-schoolers and three students were from Hendrix Junior High , a Chandler school in the Mesa Unified School District.
Jonathan Horton, 13, a Gilbert home-schooler, took third in the seventh-grade individual competition. A national spelling bee contender, Jonathan was the state spelling bee champion and placed second in the state Math Counts Competition.
"He's a busy kid," said his mom, Michelle, who says Jonathan spends his entire day studying.
Once he completes his schoolwork he works on competitions
"He's very self-motivated. He wants to do his best," Michelle said. "We just try to keep up the best we can."
Hendrix math teacher Dave Alexander says his students enjoy the competition. Alexander meets once a week with students to polish math skills for the competition.
"This is their recognition for showing off what they're good at," Alexander said.
www.azcentral.com/community/gilbert/articles/0124gr-mathkidsZ12.html
E.J. Anderson
Special for The Republic
Jan. 24, 2006 12:00 AM
Dozens of junior high students created paper airplanes to fly through hoops, dropped eggs from a two-story building and remodeled a house all for the love of math Saturday.
Sponsored by Chandler-Gilbert Community College, the Excellence in Mathematics competition teaches budding young math wonders that there is more to math than just facts.
The competition, in its sixth year, is designed to motivate students, support local schools' math programs and get students excited about math at an early age, said Trey Cox, a CGCC math instructor who organized the competition. advertisement
The competition includes a test that could curl the toes of the most seasoned mathematician, math games and group projects.
One of the most exciting parts of the competition is the group project. Playing on the popularity of the TV series Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, four-student teams use their math skills to design a back yard with a pool and spa, estimate the amount of carpet, paint and blinds to buy and the best place to get it. Once the decisions are made, the design team has to provide a written explanation for the answers.
In the individual competition, students have 40 problems to solve including algebra, geometry, statistics and logic.
The winning seventh-grade team has the first perfect score, a first for the event.
"These are hard tests. They are not made to get a perfect score," Cox said.
"It was pretty cool to do the test," said first-place winner Josh Steel, 12, who along with three siblings has been home-schooled.
Josh spends about an hour a day doing math. Once a week, he spends time with Veritas, a home school group with math tutor Pam Woodbury.
Home-schooled students excelled in Saturday's competition. Of the six individual winners, three students were Veritas home-schoolers and three students were from Hendrix Junior High , a Chandler school in the Mesa Unified School District.
Jonathan Horton, 13, a Gilbert home-schooler, took third in the seventh-grade individual competition. A national spelling bee contender, Jonathan was the state spelling bee champion and placed second in the state Math Counts Competition.
"He's a busy kid," said his mom, Michelle, who says Jonathan spends his entire day studying.
Once he completes his schoolwork he works on competitions
"He's very self-motivated. He wants to do his best," Michelle said. "We just try to keep up the best we can."
Hendrix math teacher Dave Alexander says his students enjoy the competition. Alexander meets once a week with students to polish math skills for the competition.
"This is their recognition for showing off what they're good at," Alexander said.
www.azcentral.com/community/gilbert/articles/0124gr-mathkidsZ12.html