The Avid Learner

The 2008 California State MATHCOUNTS was held on March 15, 2008 at UC Irvine and UC Davis. For Southern Section at UCI, Avid Academy student David Yang, a 6^th grader from South Point Middle School, won the individual overall competition. Andrew Zhang, an 8^th grader from Ridgecrest Intermediate School won the countdown round. Rancho San Joaquin Middle School of Irvine Unified School District won the team competition.

Nine Avid Academy students advanced to the State MATHCOUNTS this year with five placed in the top sixteen individual competition and one winning school team. For a complete list of winners, please visit 2008 California MATHCOUNTS results.

More Avid Students Qualified for 2008 AIME

American Mathematical Association announced 2008 AIME (American Invitational Mathematical Exams) qualifying scores on AMC 10A/12A and AMC 10B/12B. Thirteen Avid Academy students qualified to take AIME.

AIME is a three-hour, 15-question exam. It is the second step in the four-step process of selecting USA Math Olympiad Team. Top 500 students in the nation will qualify to take the 2008 USAMO exam at the end of April.

For a complete list of AIME qualifiers, please visit 2008 AMC Result.

2008 Math Day at the Beach Held

Organized by Professor Kent Merryfield and the math department of California State University, Long Beach, 2008 Math Day at the Beach was held on March 22, 2008. Over 200 high school students on 36 teams from Southern California participated in the event.

University High School of Irvine won the Division A team competition and Northwood High School of Irvine won the Division B team competition. Jeff Manning, a 12th grade home school student, won the individual competition. For more information, please visit 2008 Math Day at the Beach Results.

FREE 2008 California Math League Grade 4 - 5 and Algebra I Contests

Avid Academy will host the 2008 California Math League Grades 4 - 5 Contests and Algebra I Contest to eligible students. A student must be in 4th grade or lower to take the 4th Grade Contest, in 5th grade to take the 5th Grade Contest, and enrolled in Algebra I or Pre-Algebra class to take the Algebra I Contest. All contests are free of charge to eligible students in Orange County. Please note the date of the contests has been changed from Saturday, April 19 to Tuesday, April 15.

Date: Tuesday, April 15, 2008

Time: 7:30 - 8:30 PM

Location: Grimm Hall, DeNault Auditorium, Concordia University, Irvine

To register for the contest, please download the registration form at Grades 4 - 5 Contest: 2008 California Math League Grades 4 - 5 Contests Registration Form;

Algebra I Contest: 2008 California Math League Algebra I Contests Registration Form.

Winners will be announced and honored at Avid Academy's Annual Excellence in Mathematics Award Ceremony on Saturday, June 7, 2008 at Concordia University, Irvine.

2008 Orange County Math Olympiad Summer Camp Program Available

Avid Academy will host its third annual Orange County Math Olympiad Summer Camp for students in grades 4 - 11 from July 7 to July 18 and July 21 to August 1 at Concordia University, Irvine, CA.

We accept about 25 students for each session. Please register early to secure your spot. For more information or download a registration form, please visit our website at 2008 Orange County Math Olympiad Summer Camp.

IB vs. AP Courses

Many local high schools offer both the International Baccalaureate (IB) and Advanced Placement (AP) programs. Both programs enable high school students to take college level classes. Jay Mathews of Washington Post reported that while college admissions officers said that they loved seeing IB courses on transcripts, there is a catch: "Students usually can't get college credit for one-year IB courses, even though they are similar to one-year AP courses, which are eligible for credit."

AP college credits are beneficial to college students in several ways. For example, top colleges such as Harvard, Princeton and MIT will award a full-course credit for a score of 5 on AP Calculus BC, AP Physics C, and AP Chemistry. The AP credits can either enable a student to graduate from college in 3 or 3.5 years or pursue a double major in four years, which have been a favorite option for college students these days.

To learn more, please read the article by Jay Mathews of Washington Post: Despite IB Growth, College Credit Is Elusive.

Pricey Summer Programs Raise Fairness Questions

Be careful about your summer program planning as not all colleges value the experience you gained through pricey internships, community services and other summer programs.

Bill Fitzsimmons, dean of admissions and financial aid at Harvard University, said high-priced internships can be "wonderful experiences," but "in and of themselves, they will not give a student an advantage in the admissions process because the playing field is not level. The substantial majority of high school students cannot afford these programs.

For more information, please read The Boston Globe article: Pricey Summer Program Raise Fairness Question.

UC Applications Top 120,000, a Record High

The University of California has received over 120,000 applications to the fall 2008 term, breaking the record for the fourth year in a row. Overall applications increased by 9 percent over fall 2007. Consequently, many students with excellent GPA and SAT scores were rejected by top UC Schools such as Berkley, UCLA, and UCSD. Schools like UCLA are increasing looking at an applicant's overall record of academics, leadership, special talents, community services, and good citizenship as basis for their admission decisions.

For the complete record and statistics of 2008 UC Applications, please read UC Applications Top 120,000.

Study Finds Sharp Math, Science Skills Help Expand Economy

According to Wall Street Journal, a new study concluded that if the U.S. performed on par with the world's leaders in science and math, it would add about two-thirds of a percentage point to the gross domestic product, or the total value of goods and services produced in a nation, every year.

Increased years of education boost economic growth -- but only if students' cognitive skills, as measured by math and science tests, are improved as a result, the study says.

Please follow this link to read Sara Murray's article: Study Finds Sharp Math, Science Skills Help Expand Economy.

Two Million Minutes - A Film on Global Education

Broken Pencil Productions announces the completion of its breakthrough documentary, Two Million Minutes - A Global Examination.

Eighteen months in the making, the film chronicles the lives of six high school students in three countries around the world - The United States, India and China. Observing the various pressures and priorities of these students, their schools and families provide insight into the changing nature of competition in the knowledge economy.

Supplementing the view from the students' perspectives is a world-class group of experts who elaborate on the differences in education among the countries and discuss implications for America.

For more information and trailer, please visit the official site of Two Million Minutes.

I hope you enjoyed the information provided in this newsletter. Thank you for supporting gifted education in Southern California. If you have comments to improve our newsletters or would like to share articles, resources and ideas with our community, please email me at Dr.Li@AvidAcademy.com.

Sincerely,

James Li, Ph.D.

Executive Director
Avid Academy for Gifted Youth