Landon’s formula for engagement in mathematics - enrichment experiences plus parent education opportunities – have resulted in a deep understanding and love for the subject, particularly among Lower and Middle School students this fall.
“I like how you can apply it to real life. A lot of jobs require math – doctors, engineers, lots of STEM related jobs, and that’s something I want to pursue,” said Middle School Math Team member Kiran ’29.
(pictured above, front row, from left) Dean '30, Ethan Jo. '29, Karim '29, (back row, from left) Sinaan '29, Kiran '29, Mervin '29.
Not pictured: Ethan Ji. '30, Miles '30, Josh '30.
Kiran and his teammates have already shown impressive enthusiasm and skill with their performance at the first math meet of the school year.
Fourteen teams competed in the meet, hosted by the Independent School Math Association of Washington at Washington Episcopal School, with the Bears tying for third place.
Throughout three rounds, mathletes had 10 minutes to answer two questions per round.
“The questions are very difficult, so you have to really dig deep into your knowledge to figure out what you’re trying to solve,” said Kiran. “I was really proud of our team. It has been a lot of work coming in during office hours and working hard to get to the goal we accomplished.”
Can you answer these questions? Find answers below at the end of the story...
Question 1: Consider the sequence of digits 12345678910111213...996996997999, which consists of the digits of all the positive integers less than 1000 (written from least to greatest). Find the number of times that the digit ‘0’ occurs within the above sequence. (A: 189)
Question 2: In a month with 31 days, the number of Mondays equals the number of Wednesdays. How many of the seven days of the week could be the 1st day of the month? (A: 3)]]
The Math Team is one of two new programs designed to nurture this passion for math.
The Lower School is also offering a twice-weekly Math Enrichment Club to Grade 6 boys, led by Middle School Math Teacher and Landon alumnus Russ Gagarin ’77.
“My vision is to have the students get a taste of pre-algebra by understanding some concepts and make some connections in math that go beyond basic math skills,” Gagarin said.
Jamie Matthews, Middle School Math Teacher and Mathematics Department Chair, recognizes the importance of a parent’s support for students.
He’s hosting an Illustrative Math Parent Coffee with fellow Middle School Math teachers from 8:30 – 9:30 a.m. in Eacho Lecture Hall on Monday, October 28.
“We want students to think deeply and be thoughtful problem-solvers. The objective of the coffee is to tell the parents how to best support their math students, give them some insight into the day to day and what expectations are in the classroom,” explained Matthews.
As for the math team, Kiran has big goals for the next competition.
“We have two more math meets this year,” he said. "So, the goal is to win.”
Did you get the questions right? The answers were 189 for Question 1, and 3 for Question 2.