The Avid Learner
A Newsletter from Avid Academy for Gifted Youth
Volume 5, Issue 6, February 1, 2011
In This Issue
AMC10 A and AMC 12 B
Spring Registration Now Open
Math Olympiad Summer Camp
AMC Announced the Changes in AIME, USAJMO and USAMO Qualification Rules
2011 Intel Science Talent Search Finalists
MOEMS Round Three Results
OML Round 2 Results
CML Round 3 Results
New Math Camp For Younger Students
Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother
Math Olympiad & Program Solving Training Programs
  • F110 - Introductory Problem Solving
  • F120 - Intermediate Problem Solving
  • F130 - Introductory Problem Solving
  • E120 - Honors Algebra Problem Solving
  • E130 - Honors Geometry Problem Solving
  • E210 - Introductory Math Competitions
  • E220 - Intermediate Math Competitions
  • E230 - Advanced Math Competitions
  • G210 - Introductory Math Olympiad
  • G220 - Intermediate Math Olympiad
  • G230- Advanced Math Olympiad
  • N210 - Introductory Physics Olympiad
  • N220 - Advanced Physics Olympiad
Dear Friends of Avid Academy,
 
Welcome to The Avid Learner, the online newsletter for Avid Academy for Gifted Youth.
Get Ready for AMC 10A and 12A
The 2011 AMC 10A/12A exam will be held on February 8 at Concordia University.  The event is FREE to all eligible students 10th grade or younger (AMC 10A) or eligible students 12th grade and under (AMC 12A).  Everyone, including Avid students, must register to take the exam.  For more information, or to register if you have not already, please visit: 2011 AMC 10A/12A.

To better prepare for this exam, please read our updated AMC 10 and AMC 12 Exam Strategy.

Math Olympiad Training Program Spring Registration Began
Avid Academy Math Olympiad Training Program Spring registration is now open.  The Spring session will begin on February 28 and end on May 8, 2011.  The complete schedule and course offerings are available at 2010-2011 Math Olympiad Training Program Spring Session.

The Spring session is a continuation of our 30-week year-round program.  Most of our sessions are full and a waiting list has been established.  To be placed on our waiting list, please send your student's name, the class of your interest, and your contact information to info@avidacademy.com.  When spots are available, we will call up students from the waiting list on a first-come, first-serve basis.
2011 Math Olympiad Summer Camp Dates Set
The 2011 Orange County Math Olympiad Summer Camp will be held from July 11 to August 5.  The following programs will be available:
  • Session A-I: July 11 - 22, M - F, 8:30 - 11:30 AM for students in grades 4 and 5.  This introductory camp is intended for students currently in Avid F110 as well as new students who will be entering 4th or 5th grade in Fall 2011.
  • Session B-I: July 25 - August 5, M - F, 8:30 - 11:30 AM for students in grades 5 and 6.  This advanced elementary school summer camp is intended for students currently in Avid F120 or F130 as well as new students who will be entering 6th grade in Fall 2011.
  • Session A-II: July 11 - 22, M - F, 12:30 - 3:30 PM for students in grades 7 and 8.  This introductory middle school camp is indented for students currently in Avid E210 as well as new students who will be studying Algebra in Fall 2011.
  • Session B-II: July 25 - August 5, M - F, 12:30 - 3:30 PM for advanced middle school students.  This intensive MATHCOUNTS boot camp is for students currently in Avid E220 or new students who will study geometry in Fall 2011.
  • Session A-III: July 11 - 22, M - F, 5:30 - 8:30 PM for students in grades 9 and 10.  This introductory AMC 10 prep camp is designed to give students an early start in AMC 10 and Algebra II preparation.  It is for students currently in Avid E230 or new students who will study Algebra II in Fall 2011.
  • Session B-III: July 25- August 5, M - F, 5:30 - 8:30 PM.  Jump Start AMC 12 and Pre-Calculus.  This intensive camp is designed for students who are currently in Avid G210 class or new students who will study Pre-Calculus in Fall 2011.
Mark your calender if you are interested in any of the above camps.  Registration will open on March 1, 2011.  In addition to the above camps, we are considering offering four additional programs in June and August:
  • Introduction to Java Programming
  • Introduction to USA Computing Olympiad
  • Introduction to USA Physics Olympiad
  • USAJMO and USAMO Seminar
These programs will be offered on an invitation only basis to existing Avid students and a few capable new students. Interested students should contact us at info@avidacademy.com for more information regarding content, schedule and fees.

AMC Announced the Changes in AIME, USAMO and USAJMO Qualification Rules
AMC announced the changes in AIME, USAMO and USAJMO qualification rules.  For students taking the 2011 AMC 10 contests, the top 2.5% of all students or scorers with at least 120 points will be invited to take AIME.  This differs from the values of 1% which have been in effect since 2004.  With an estimated 120,000 students who take the AMC 10 exams, it means an increase of about 1,800 AIME qualifiers.

For USAMO and USAJMO, the students who take AMC 10 are only eligible for USAJMO qualification and students who take AMC 12 are only eligible for USAMO qualification.  Approximately 260-270 students will be selected to take USAMO based on the USAMO index, which is 10 times AIME score plus AMC 12 score.  Approximately 230-240 students will be selected to take USAJMO based on the USAJMO index, which is 10 times AIME score plus AMC 10 score.  If a student takes both AMC 10 and AMC 12 (for example, AMC 10A and AMC 12B) and qualifies for both USAMO and USAJMO, the student will be invited to take USAMO and forfeit qualification for USAJMO.

For more information, please read:
Four Southern California Students Selected 2011 Intel Science Talent Search Finalists

The Society for Science and the Public announced its 2011 Intel Science Talent Search finalists.  For the first time in history, more students from California were named finalist than New York.  Among the 40 finalists, 11 are from California and 9 are from New York.  Also for the first time in history, 4 students from Southern California were named finalists:
  • Jonathan Li, St. Margaret's Episcopal School
  • David Kenneth Tang-Quan, Palos Verdes Peninsula High School
  • Xiaoyu Cao, Torrey Pines High School
  • Bonnie Rae Lei, Walnut High School
All finalists will receive a $7,500 college scholarship and go to Washington DC in March to participate in the final judging, display their work to the public, meet with notable scientists, and compete for the top award of $100,000.

For more information, visit 2011 Intel Science Talent Search Finalists.
Results of MOEMS Round Three
Students in 4th to 6th grade participated in Round 3 of the Math Olympiad for Elementary and Middle Schools (MOEMS) Division-E competition.  The following students received perfect scores: Robert Chang, Roddur Dasgupta, Jake Ebach, Maria Lee, Anish Neervannan, Lauren Song, Andy Huang, Nicholas Wang, Stephan Ko, Andrew Li, Sydney Okubo, Billy Wang, Katie Kim, Justin Chuang, Spencer Song, Angelina Ye, Austin Hwang, Megan Phansalkar, Cole Riel, Matthew Riel, Benjamin Sui, Drew Vollero, and Ethan Yoshioka.

In the Division-M for 7th and 8th graders, Grant Dunlavey, Rianna Jitosho, Terry Jo, Jonathan Jow, Kevin Li, Christopher Wang, and Evan Yu received perfect scores.  

Congratulations!  The leaderboard of the first three rounds is available at MOMES Result.
Online Math League Round Two Results
Students in grades 3 through 6 competed in Round 2 of the Online Math League. The following 3rd Grade students received top scores: Kasra Lekan and Arjun Neervannan.

In 4th Grade Ethan Moy and Anne Xu received top scores.

In 5th Grade Roddur Dasgupta, Michelle Hung and William Wang received top scores.

In 6th Grade Neal Sharma, Cole Riel and Matthew RIel got perfect scores. In addition, Spencer Song, Drew Vollero and Annie Chang received top scores.
These outstanding students deserve special recognition for their achivements.  For complete results, please visit: Online Math League Results.
Continental Math League Round Three Results
Students in 4th and 5th grade competed in Round Three of the Continental Math League.  Amy Zhong and Christopher Lu deserve special recognition for receiving perfect scores.

For complete results, please visit: Continental Math League Results.
Residential Summer Camp for Young "Math Geeks"
This year the founders of MathPath Camp have formed a new camp, Epsilon Camp, for children ages 8 through 10 and a half. Epsilon Camp is a resedential program for students and their parents where students attend a math-intensive camp while parents attend a workshop that focuses on how best to encourage your gifted children.
 
The students' camp run by Dr. George R. Thomas is ideal for younger students who have less opportunity of math-enriching programs than older students.
 
Epsilon Camp will hold its first annual program from July 24 through August 14, 2011. The camp will be held at Colorado College in Colorade Springs.
 
For more information including eligibility and how to apply, please visit: www.epsiloncamp.org. 
Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother 
Asian American and Yale law professor Amy Chua ignited a stormy debate on parenting when the excerpt of her new book "Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother" was published in a Wall Street Journal article titled Why Chinese Mothers are Superior.  Here is an excerpt from Yahoo News:

"Though Chua was born and raised in the U.S., her invocation of what she describes as traditional "Chinese parenting" has hit hard at a national sore spot: our fears about losing ground to China and other rising powers and about adequately preparing our children to survive in the global economy.  Her stories of never accepting a grade lower than an A, of insisting on hours of math and spelling drills and piano and violin practice each day (weekends and vacations included), of not allowing playdates or sleepovers or television or computer games or even school plays, for goodness' sake, have left many readers outraged but also defensive.  The tiger mother's cubs are being raised to rule the world, the book clearly implies, while the offspring of "weak-willed," "indulgent" Westerners are growing up ill equipped to compete in a fierce global marketplace."

Whether you agree with Chua, it would be helpful to be familiar with the discussion.  Here are few articles from national media:
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