The Avid Learner

Online Math League (November 9 - 14) for students in F110, F120, F130, and E210
Math Olympiad Round One (November 16 - 21) for students in F120, F130, E210, E220, and E230
California Math League Round 2 (November 21) for students in E230, G210, and G220
Mandelbrot Round One (November 14) for students in G220

These competitions will be administrated in-class during regular scheduled class time. Results will be posted on our website. For a complete list of math competition events, please visit Avid Academy Event Calender.

	California Math League Results
The results from the California Math League High School Exam Round One are available. Congratulations to the following students who had perfect scores: James Kang, Ellen Yu, Andrew Ma, Brian Wagner, Eureka Ma, and Lexie Jiang. For the list of scores of additional high achieving students, please visit: California Math League Round One Results.

Siemens Competition in Math, Science and Technology

The Siemens Competition, a nationwide science research contest for high school students, has announced the 2009 semifinalists and finalists. Funded by the Siemens Foundation and administered by the College Board, the Siemens Competition annually awards college scholarships ranging from $1,000 to $100,000 in individual and team categories.

Congratulations to our OC finalists: Brian Chang (Troy HS), Shawn Tang (Troy HS), Tito Thomas (Troy HS), Eric Walsh (Troy HS), Nicolai Doreng-Stearns (Laguna Beach HS), Samantha Piszkiewicz (Laguna Beach HS), Ryan Lindeborg (Dana Hills HS), and Anirudh Nandan (Los Alamitos HS).

The finalists will advance to compete at the California Institute of Technology on November 20 and 21. The winners of each regional competition are then invited to compete in the National Finals at New York University in early December. To learn more, please visit: The Siemens Foundation.

"Explore Your Universe" Astronomy Day at UCLA

On Saturday, November 14, UCLA is hosting events in celebration of the International Year of Astronomy. The event titled "Explore Your Universe" is free to the public and includes a number of fun and exciting activities such as tours of fossils and meteors, telescope viewing, planetarium shows, demonstrations by the Physics Department, presentations by UCLA Astronomers, discussion about life in the universe, and much more! It is a great opportunity to gain hands on experience with the most modern applications and discoveries in science.

For more information on the event, please visit the event page at UCLA's site: Explore Your Universe at UCLA.

The New "Myths" of Gifted Education

Nearly 3 decades after myths involving gifted education had first arisen, new additions have been made from research done by the Gifted Child Quarterly (GCQ). A few of the myths revolving around gifted education this periodical are: creativity is too difficult to measure, gifted education means having a program, high ability students don't face problems and challenges, it's "fair" to teach all children the same way, and Advanced Placement (AP) is an adequate secondary program. The journal aims to "shake loose the grip of some common myths and suggest promising directions for more productive foundations for inquiry and practice" in gifted education.

To find out more about the myths revolving around gifted education, please refer to the Science Daily's article: The New Myths of Gifted Education. Also a link to the Gifted Child Quarterly (GCQ), from whose research the article was based: The Gifted Child Quarterly

3-Year Bachelor's Degree

In the dawn of economic recession, the educational system seems to have been hit the hardest with sharp increases in student fees to compensate for economic woes. Many universities across the nation have begun looking at a different approach to education as talk of offering three year degree programs has gained notoriety. It's questionable whether students will jump at this opportunity since it requires a specific knowledge of what exactly students want for their future along with a relinquishment of their youthful years. Parents, however, seem to like the idea since it lessens the financial burden of their child's education.

To learn more about this pending idea, causes, and the impact it may have, please read Justin Pope's USA Today article: Colleges Offering 3-Year Bachelor's.

The Launch of Engineering Magnet

Fairmont Preparatory Academy of Anaheim, California, has just launched a cutting edge program to further students' abilities and readiness for college. A program called "Engineering Magnet" is designed to jumpstart high school students interested in engineering disciplines by offering them hands on experience in a new state-of-the-art engineering lab and college level coursework in classes such as physics and dynamics. The program is designed to give their students an advantage when applying to top engineering schools.

For more information about Fairmont and its engineering program, please read the CNBC News article: Fairmont's Engineering Magnet.

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