Math Olympiads for 4^th to 8^th graders

Math Olympiads is one of the best programs for learning problem solving skills:  http://www.moems.org.   

Calling all 4th to 8th graders!

Have fun working together on math problems.  Learn problem solving skills.  

Join our Math Olympiad group.  All are welcome! Not just for math nerds--come one, come all.

Here are the details:

What :  Math Olympiads Class (http://www.moems.org/program.htm) 

Who:  4th to 8th grade students.  Taught by Dr. Bob Styer, Villanova University math professor

When: Friday mornings 7:45 am to 8:40 am beginning October 5, 2018 and ends in March 2019

Where: Crossroads Community Church, 104 Heather Road Upper Darby PA (no travel to competitions involved --all meetings at the site)

Why: Here are the reasons (from the Math Olympiad website).

• To stimulate enthusiasm and a love for Mathematics
• To introduce important Mathematical concepts
• To teach major strategies for problem solving
• To develop Mathematical flexibility in solving problems
• To strengthen Mathematical intuition
• To foster Mathematical creativity and ingenuity
• To provide for the satisfaction, joy, and thrill of meeting challenges

Cost:  20 dollars for the year for first student in family, 30 dollars for two or more students in family

Our MOEMS group is sponsored by CHEER; see https://cheergroup.weebly.com/math-olympiad.html  for details and for signup info. 

 American Math Competition

The Mathematical Association of America sponsors the largest and most famous of all high school math competitions, the American Mathematics Competition (AMC), which eventually leads to the International Mathematics Olympiads.  For more information, see their web site http://amc.maa.org/ which also has a collection of past problems and other study aids.  The national site has a zip code search feature to help find high schools or colleges near you that offer the contest for either contest date. 

For over a dozen years, the Villanova University Math/Stats Department offered a free location for students in small private schools or homeschoolers who would not otherwise have access to take the AMC contest.  The number of participants grew from less than 20 to over 50. 

Alas, the Jerry Sandusky fiasco has wreaked havoc on volunteer activities throughout Pennsylvania, and has led to our no longer offering the AMC.  In 2015 some aspects of the new laws took effect, but in 2016 the full force affected us.  The actual contest has three levels, so my proctoring the exams requires 75 minutes, then 3 hours for the AIME, then 9 hours for the USAMO.  The paperwork for each registrant probably took about a half hour each (answering emails, arranging the facilities, filling out the registration forms, getting materials together, sending out the exam results after the contest, etc.). 

 But the new child abuse policies that went into effect in 2016 more than doubled the amount of paperwork involved.    We needed several extra proctors who all had to be fingerprinted and each took a safety of minors online course and read/signed numerous documents that I had to file.   In 2014 I probably volunteered 40-50 hours to run the AMC, but in 2016 it was about 100 hours over three months.  So we are very sorry that we are no longer able to offer this valuable service to many mathematically gifted students in the greater Philadelphia area.   

We hope you can find local high schools who will allow your gifted student to take the AMC.  The national site has a zip code search feature to help find high schools or colleges near you that offer the contest.