The Avid Learner

The event is free of charge and open to public. Seating is limited. Please RSVP with the number of participants in your party at info@AvidAcademy.com by June 1, 2008.

Second Annual Excellence in Mathematics Award Ceremony and Ice Cream Social

Following the Pathway to College seminar on June 7, 2008, Avid Academy will hold its second annual Excellence in Mathematics Award Ceremony to honor Orange County's exceptionally talented math students and most dedicated math teachers. An ice cream social will take place immediately after.

Date: Saturday, June 7, 2008

Time: 4:00 - 6:00 PM

Location: DeNault Auditorium, Concordia University, Irvine

Schedule:

4:00 - 4:15 PM: Introduction
4:15 - 5:00 PM: Pathway to College Seminar
5:00 - 5:30 PM: Excellence in Mathematics Award Ceremony
5:30 - 6:00 PM: Ice Cream Social

The event is free of charge and open to public. Seating is limited. Please RSVP with number of participants in your party at info@AvidAcademy.com by June 1, 2008.

2008 USAMO Winners Announced

The Mathematical Association of America announced the 2008 USA Math Olympiad (USAMO) results on May 12, 2008. The top twelve winners will take the team selection test to compete for the six spots to represent US to International Math Olympiad in Spain, July 10 - 22.

The USAMO is the pinnacle event in the sequence of increasingly challenging mathematical contests administered by the MAA's American Mathematics Competitions program. More than 225,000 worldwide took the first contest (AMC 10 or AMC 12). About 8,600 were invited to compete in the second contest (AIME) , and just 505 of these participants made it to the highly selective and prestigious USAMO this year.

These students went on to tackle a challenging, six-question proof-based exam for 4.5 hours each day on April 29-30. Out of the 505 USAMO qualifiers, 50 students including winners, honorable mentions, and top 9th graders, and top girls were selected to the Math Olympiad Summer Program (MOSP) at University of Nebraska for a three-week intensive training starting June 10, 2008.

For the second consecutive year, Jeff Manning, a home-school senior from Pasadena, received honorable mention. Ivan Zhang, a junior from University High School in Irvine and Johnny Li, a freshman from St. Margaret's Episcopal School in San Juan Capistrano were invited to MOSP.

For more information, please visit 2008 USAMO Winners and Honorable Mentions.

2008 Orange County Excellent Math Club Teacher Awards

Avid Academy is pleased to announce the establishment of the annual Orange County Outstanding Math Club Teacher Award (or Orange County Math Club Teacher of the Year Award). The award will honor three math club teachers in Orange County (one each for elementary, middle, and high school) for their dedications in providing supportive environments to gifted math students and their contributions in furthering excellence in math culture. All three teachers will be recognized (and awarded prizes) in Avid Academy's Excellence in Mathematics Award Ceremony on June 7.

There is no better way to acknowledge appreciation to a special teacher who goes extra miles and spends countless hours in teaching, organizing, supporting, and advising math club than a simple yet sincere recognition. Making a nomination is a fantastic way to honor such hard working teacher who deserves special recognition. To nominate a teacher, please send the name of teacher and school with a 200 to 500 words description to info@AvidAcademy.com. The nomination for 2008 Orange County Outstanding Math Club Teacher Award is due by May 25, 2008.

2008 MATHCOUNTS National Competition

2008 MATHCOUNTS National competition was held on May 9, 2008 in Denver, Colorado. Darryl Wu, a 6th grader from Washington, won the National Champion title while Texas captured the title of National Team Champions. The Washington team took second place, and the Maryland team placed third. The California team finished seventh.

For a complete list of top 12 individuals and top 10 teams, please visit 2008 MATHCOUNTS. To view a webcast of the entire countdown competition, please visit 2008 MATHCOUNTS National Competition COUNTDOWN webcast.

2008 USA Physics Team Announced

The Association of American Physics Teachers (AAPT) announced the formation of the 2008 USA Physics Team. 24 students made the team through three-round of competitions. The students will participate in the U.S. Physics Camp where the top six students will be selected to form the traveling team to compete in 2008 International Physics Olympiad held in Hanoi, Vietnam, July 20-29.

For a complete list of team members and their bios, please visit 2008 U.S. Physics Team.

2008 U.S. Chemistry Olympiad Study Camp Formed

The American Chemical Society announced the participants of the 2008 U.S. Chemistry Olympiad Study Camp. The top 20 students are selected from two round of competitions:

Local Exam: Nominated by chemistry teachers of their high schools, students participate in the exam organized by the local chapter of the American Chemical Society. Over 100 students participated in the Orange County Chapter local exam. Top 12 students advanced to the national exam.
National Exam: Top 500 students selected from local exams participated in the national exam. The top 20 students are chosen to participate in the U.S. Chemistry Olympiad Study Camp where top six students will represent United States in 2008 International Chemistry Olympiad held in Budapest, Hungary, July 12-21.

For a list of 2008 Study Camp participants, please visit 2008 U.S. Chemistry Olympiad Study Camp.

Avid Academy Launches Physics Olympiad Summer Camp

Avid Academy launches the 2008 Physics Olympiad Summer Camp to be held at Concordia University, Irvine from July 21 - August 1.

This introductory summer camp will teach classic mechanics that is a core content tested on the U.S. Physics Olympiad Preliminary exam. The graduates of the camp can join our Intermediate Phyiscs Olympiad program during the 2008 - 2009 school year to take the U.S. Physics Olympiad and AP Physics C exam.

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 Physics Olympiad Summer Camp.

Raising a Math Talent

On May 3, 2008, Avid Academy presented a documentary film Hard Problems featuring guest speaker Orlando Leung, the father of Tedrick Leung, a member of the 2007 U.S. International Math Olympiad Team member.

Mr. Leung discussed his experience in Tedrick's journey toward IMO while maintaining his happiness in math and in life. He also offered practical advice to students and parents in working hard, balancing learning with competitions, and dealing with setbacks and pressures. If you missed the presentation, please read a report by Siyu Shen, a freshman from Northwood High School, Irvine on Raising a Math Talent.

Santa Monica High Won 2008 National Science Bowl

Four California high school students used a complex mathematical function called a Maclaurin series to come up with the correct answer - "two-thirds" - to win the Energy Department's annual National Science Bowl.

The team from Santa Monica High School in Santa Monica, Calif., beat 66 other schools and won a trip to the International Youth Science Forum in London this summer.

To learn more, please read the article by Natasha T. Metzler of Associated Press: Santa Monica High Wins National Science Bowl.

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