Thursday, January 28, 2010

University of Waterloo Math Contests Dates

Please see the link below for information on the upcoming Mathematics Contests.

http://cemc.uwaterloo.ca/contests/contests.html

Please see Mrs. Cockerton in Room 300 or Mrs. Barker-Whyte in Room 201 for further information.

International Math Kangaroo Contest 2010

International Math Kangaroo Contest 2010

Note: I have posted all grade level information in case some of our gifted students have younger siblings. Please see Mrs. Barker-Whyte in Room 201 if you are interested in participating in this contest.

In 2009, more than 5,800,000 students from grade 3 to grade 12, from 46 countries around the world, participated in the contest. Among them, there were about 1100 Canadian students, and about 300 students from Ottawa.

In Canada, the 2010 Math Kangaroo contest is available in Toronto, Ottawa, Sudbury, Montreal, Calgary, Edmonton, Winnipeg, and St. John’s.

The Ottawa contest will take place on
Sunday, March 28, 2010
10:00 to 11:00am
At the
University of Ottawa, SITE building,
800 King Edward Blvd.

To register, complete the online registration form at www.mathkangaroocanada.com and send a printed copy, along with a payment of $15 participation fee at the address provided on the website, before March 20, 2010.

Training sessions are offered to new participants from grade 3 to 8, on Sunday, February 21, and Sunday, March 7, 2010 . Details are available on the website.

For information, send an e-mail to: ottawa@mathkangaroocanada.com.

The International Contest-Game Math Kangaroo
We would like to inform you about an exciting opportunity for students from grades 3 to 12 to be introduced to the beauty of mathematics and to become interested and willing to explore it.
Since 2006, the Canadian Math Kangaroo Contest corporation organises this international contest in Canada, with the generous support of the CMS, IEEE (Northern section), and academic institutions like the University of Ottawa, University of Toronto, Concordia University College of Alberta, Mount Royal College in Calgary, University of Winnipeg, Memorial University of Newfoundland, etc. In the world, the contest is organised by the International Association “Kangaroo without Borders”, whose members are 46 countries from Europe, North America, South America and Asia, including Canada. Every year in March, the contest attracts more than 5 million students around the globe and, in terms of participants it is by no means the most popular math contest in the world.
The mission of the organisers from all countries is to expose students from their young school age to math challenges and to motivate them to learn and strive for improvement. In many countries, Math Kangaroo clubs, workshops, publications, camps, and other related activities are organized regularly during the year, with the dedication to promote mathematics to a wider audience of students, parents, teachers, and educators.
Canadian specifics of the contest
At present, there are several contest centres in Canada. In 2009, about 1100 students took part in the contest. We are looking for opportunities to expand the geography of the contest and to make it accessible to more students, from all regions of Canada. Some of the most important details are as follows:
1. There are five age groups: grade 3-4; grade 5-6; grade 7-8; grade 9-10, and grade 11-12.
2. The contest is offered in English and in French.
3. Students solve a set of 24 multiple choice questions divided in three levels of complexity, in 60 minutes.
4. Calculators are not permitted.
5. Maximum number of points is 120. A correct answer earns 3 points (level A), 4 points (level B) or 5 points (level C). A negative score of (-1) is given for a wrong answer, regardless the difficulty level. Unanswered problems are not given any points. Each participant starts with 24 points, in order to avoid negative total scores.
Important details for the contest in Ottawa in brief

Contest Day: March 28, 2010, 10:00 to 11:00 am.
Place: University of Ottawa, SITE building, 800 King Edward Blvd.

Registration: Online, through the website www.mathkangaroocanada.com.

Printed copy of the registration form and payment should be mailed to :
Math Kangaroo Contest,
1411A Carling avenue, Suite # 264,
Ottawa, ON, K1Z1A7
Registration fee of $15.00 per student to be paid by cheque to:
Canadian Math Kangaroo Contest
Training sessions: February 21 and March 7, 2010
Place: University of Ottawa, SITE Building, Room A150.
Time schedule:
Grade 3-4 9:30-10:30
Grade 5-6 11:00-12:00
Grade 7-8 12:30-1:30
Participation fee for the training: $5.00 per student per session, paid cash on the day of the training.
To register for training, please send an e-mail with a subject: Training Registration to valeria.pandelieva@sympatico.ca.

For any further information or inquiries, please contact Valeria Pandelieva by e-mail at valeria.pandelieva@sympatico.ca or by phone at 613-792-1742.

Young People's Night at the Opera, Macbeth

Opera Lyra Ottawa’s spring edition of the Young People’s Night at the Opera,
Macbeth by Giuseppe Verdi will take place on Thursday, March 25, 2010 at
7:30 p.m. in Southam Hall at the National Arts Centre. The Young People’s
Night at the Opera programme offers schools the opportunity to bring their
students to an evening preview of professional opera on the mainstage during
the final Dress Rehearsal for a nominal cost of $12 per ticket.
Young People’s Night at the Opera is an extremely popular programme, so we
suggest making your booking well in advance. Not only will your students
attend a live opera but when you book your group, your school will also
receive a CD of Macbeth courtesy of Bell Canada, Opera Lyra Ottawa’s Season
Sponsor.
Referred to as "the Scottish play" because the mention of the name in
backstage lore brings bad luck to the production, Macbeth is the story of
passion, hatred, treachery, murder, revenge and madness. Three witches
announce that Macbeth will become Thane of Cawdor and King of Scotland, a
prophesy that Lady Macbeth is determined to realize - even though it will
require the death of the current King, the destruction of friends as well as
foe, and ultimately leads to her own death and the assassination of Macbeth,
King of Scotland. Macbeth will be sung in Italian with English and French
surtitles.

Please see Mrs. Barker-Whyte in Room 201 if you are interested in attending this activity.

Wednesday, January 13, 2010

Ottawa Regional Science Fair Registration Opens

The registration for this year's Science Fair has opened - and they will continue to accept registrations until March 31, 2010. The link to the website for all information is at http://www.orsf.ca/
The site for the Ottawa Regional Fair is Hillcrest HS, and the date is Saturday, April 10 (set up in the evening of Apr 9). The Canada wide Science Fair is being hosted in Peterborough this year, in May. Congratulations to all students who entered the Science Fair last year - please see the list of winners below.

There is support available for the students, through either VROC (virtual researcher on call http://www.vroc.ca/), or through mentoring matches with experts in different fields in the community. VROC can be used by anyone with their class, separate from Science Fair support as well - many different topics are available, and many researchers are volunteering their time to do this.

Please see Mrs. Barker-Whyte in Room 201 if you are interested in participating in this activity.