2010 VIRGINIA STATE COMPETITION
Informational Sheet about the 2010 State Competition
STATE SPONSORS:
Raytheon
Dominion Virginia Power
CORPRINT of Virginia, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, March 20, 2010
LOCATION: Dominion Virginia Power Headquarters, Innsbrook Technical Center, Richmond, VA - MAP
From
areas East of
·
NOTE:
In Richmond, I-64 West merges with I-95 North for about 3 miles, then exits right.
·
Take I-64 at
Exit #178B
·
At first traffic
light, turn left onto
From
areas West of
·
Take I-64 East
·
Exit I-64 at Richmond
Exit #178B
·
At first traffic
light, turn left onto
From
areas North of
·
Take I-95 South
to Exit #84B
·
On to I-295 West
for 10 miles
·
Last exit is
#53B to I-64 East
·
One mile on I-64
East to Exit #178B
· At first traffic light, turn left onto Dominion Boulevard. Dominion VA Power is located on your right at the end of the street.
From
areas South of
·
Take I-95 North
to to I-64 West
·
Get off I-64
West at Richmond
Exit #178B
· At first traffic light, turn left onto Dominion Boulevard. Dominion VA Power is located on your right at the end of the street.
SCHEDULE: IMPORTANT: Schedule has changed from last year.
RESTRICTIONS: Everyone who plans to enter the building to register their MATHLETE and/or attend the state competition, MUST BE ON VSPE’S LIST. The chapter and regional coordinators will be collecting the names and provide a master list to the state office. You will be required to check in at Dominion VA Power’s main desk and show a photo ID. Because of the location layout and added security measures, the competition room will also once again not be open to coaches or parents. Only Mathletes and designated volunteers will be allowed in the competition room. Communication with coaches is only permitted during breaks. Coaches will have a separate area where they can relax or work on projects.
Restricted Access*
Open to Attendees on List+
9:30 - 10:00 a.m. Registration of Teams and Individuals+
10:00 - 10:15 a.m. Opening of Competition - Introductions and instructions*
10:15 - 11:05 a.m. Sprint Round Competition*
11:05 - 11:20 a.m. Break
11:20 - 11:50 a.m. Target Round Competition*
11:50 - 12:00 p.m. Seating Adjustment for Team Round
12:00 - 12:20 p.m. Team Round Competition*
12:20 - 1:00 p.m. Break - Lunch Served to Competitors, Coaches, Volunteers+
1:00 - 2:00 p.m. Countdown Round Competition+
2:00 - 2:30 p.m. Awards Ceremony+ & Photos
2:30 - 3:00 p.m. Instructions to VA Team advancing to the 2010 Raytheon MATHCOUNTS National Competition*
STATE COORDINATOR: Rebecca L. Golden, P.E., bgolden@spotsylvania.va.us, 540-507-7012
VOLUNTEERS: Volunteers are always needed at the state competition. If you wish to volunteer for this year's competition, please contact the state coordinator or fill out this form and email to Rebecca L. Golden at bgolden@spotsylvania.va.us.
DONATIONS: Individual and corporate donations are also always needed to help fund both the chapter and state level competitions. Checks should be made payable to "VSPE Educational Fund" with a notation in the memo section that your contribution is to benefit the "State MATHCOUNTS" program. Checks should be mailed to VSPE Educational Fund, 3420 Pump Road #240, Richmond, VA 23233. The VSPE Educational Fund is a 501(C)3 corporation and your contribution should be deductible as a charitable contribution. Please consult your tax advisor when making any tax decisions.
PARENTS/GUESTS: Parents and guests are always welcome at the state competition. Parents and guests are allowed during lunch and during the Countdown Round portion of the competition. Because of security concerns at the location, Dominion VA Power has requested a list of ALL individuals who will be entering the facility for the competition. Therefore, ANY parent who wishes to observe their child in the afternoon portion of the competition MUST notify the Chapter Coordinator in writing of those who will be attending. You must also have a valid photo ID with you when you arrive and check in at Dominion VA Power's headquarters. Because of this additional requirement, we ask that small children (toddlers) not be brought to the competition. We are also NOT selling lunches to parents/guests this year. Lunch will only be provided to coaches and competitors. There are numerous restaurants and shopping malls within 5 minutes of the competition site for parents/guests to get food.
LIST OF
2010 TEAM WINNERS ADVANCING TO
NATIONALS:
Team and Coach advancing to Nationals:
Coach: Mary Jo Clark, Longfellow Middle School, Northern Virginia Region
#1 on Team: Victoria Xia, Longfellow Middle School, Northern Virginia Region
#2 on Team: Archis Bhandarkar, Nysmith Middle School, Northern Virginia Region
#3 on Team: Veronica Lee, Longfellow Middle School, Northern Virginia Region
#4 on Team: Adam Barth, Longfellow Middle School, Northern Virginia Region
Photo of 2006 winning team with President Bush at White House -
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2006/05/images/20060515-1_p051506pm-0142-515h.html
By Ken Storey (March 27,
2006)
Pamela Haner remembers the first time she saw a countdown round competition as part of the MATHCOUNTS event. It was 1995 and her son Neil was a Mathlete and she was an elementary school teacher. She came to the state championships and watched and was overwhelmed by what she saw. She says, “I wish everyone could see these 6,7 and 8 graders and see what they can do mathematically. We hear so much bad stuff, but these kids are amazing.”
In 2000 Haner transferred to Bailey Bridge Middle and immediately volunteered to help with MATHCOUNTS, assisting the county’s gifted itinerant teacher with the after school program. She transferred schools in 2003 and has since progressed to become the coach of the Manchester team which has won the Richmond region for several years and placed third at the state championships for the past three years including 2006. When she first volunteered, the program had about a dozen students come out to the MATHCOUNTS practice sessions, now they have about 100. Haner comments, “I know how much it did for my son and I want to provide that same opportunity for other kids. Middle school is a tough time for kids because showing your brains isn’t always cool. MATHCOUNTS allows the kids to show their ability in a way that is acceptable. For my son it truly made the adjustment to high school and working hard for good grades easier.”
It’s worth noting that Haner’s son went on to get an engineering degree from the University of Virginia and now serves with the Air Force in Iraq.
As successful as the Manchester MATHCOUNTS program has become, Haner
won’t be satisfied until she knocks off perennial powerhouses Frost and
Longfellow Middle Schools from Northern Virginia. She adds, “I know we can do
it and one year we will.”
By Ken Storey (March 26, 2005)
Staunton River Middle School is in rural Bedford County outside of Roanoke. Mark Wilkinson is the coach of their team and a part-time teacher in the school system. Mark retired from the Solomon Brothers financial firm 12 years ago and moved his family to Smith Mountain Lake and Bedford.
In helping to put together a MATHCOUNTS team effort in Bedford, Mark has seen the enthusiasm for MATHCOUNTS spread throughout the rural school system. He says, "The teachers and administrators have really embraced the MATHCOUNTS program as a way to create advanced opportunities for kids and that enthusiasm has spread to other subject areas now. Not only do we have advanced level math curriculums in the County Schools, but advanced language classes have now been established throughout the system, as well.
I’m not saying MATHCOUNTS is the only reason the advanced curriculums were established, but I am saying that the support I’ve gotten for MATHCOUNTS has translated into support for other advanced learning opportunities for our kids."
Wilkinson teaches advanced math courses one day a week in Staunton River Middle School and coaches the MATHCOUNTS teams. He notes, "All of my professional success I owe to my schooling and I want to give back and see these kids have similar opportunities to grow and advance."
By Ken Storey (March 2004)
Year after year, Longfellow Middle School in
Falls Church places individual members on the Virginia MATHCOUNTS team and is
one of the top overall teams. According to coach Barbara Burnett there is no
“secret” to their success, just old fashion competitive spirit and drive.
Barbara took over as the Longfellow
MATHCOUNTS coach from Vern Williams several years ago and she attributes much of
their current success to the tradition of success that Williams established as
coach. She says she starts
preparing for MATHCOUNTS in September by having an “open call” for team
participants and gets about 130 people who come out.
The kids come to practice each Friday after school for two hours. After
several weeks a test is given and the first “cut” is made to 70.
After several more weeks of practice another test is given and the
potential team members is cut to about 30. Another round of practice sessions
and test trims the potential district team members to 17.
Burnett says the practice sessions are
then picked up to two hours Friday afternoons and three hours on Sunday
afternoons. A series of additional
tests finally cuts the Longfellow Middle School team to the six best students to
go to the Northern Virginia regional competition.
Burnett says by the time the team gets to the district competition the
members are very competitive, “The kids have practiced and worked so hard to
make the team that they are not only competitive with other teams, but they are
competitive among themselves, pushing each other to do their very best. Once the
team qualifies for the state championships we add an additional practice with
Vern Williams and former MATHCOUNTS team member Eugene Huang on Thursday nights
at the Thomas Jefferson Math and Science High School with the high school math
competition students. Being with
the high schoolers really motivates them to work harder.”
The motivation and practice must work
because every one of the Longfellow team members made the top 16 countdown round
this year. Burnett says the memory
she cherishes the most from her MATHCOUNTS work is when Virginia won the
national championships in 2001 and they got to meet President Bush and Vice
President Cheney at the White House. She
also has fond memories of many of her past team members who are now beginning to
graduate from high school and go onto college.
Burnett notes, “I taught math in
college for 12 years before I came to Longfellow and I never thought any of
those students were smarter than me when it came to math, but I’m not sure
when it comes to some of my MATHCOUNTS MATHLETES.”
Keeping up with those MATHLETES keeps Burnett on her toes.
Not only does she lead all the practice sessions, she must grade all the
practice tests and continually look for new challenging problems. All of that work and time comes with the pay of a volunteer.
Longfellow’s success is truly not a secret, it is well known that it comes from the dedication and commitment from coaches like Barbara Burnett, Vern Williams and Eugene Huang.
2001 NATIONAL TEAM WINNERS FROM VA & COACH
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L-R: Veronica Pillar (Longfellow Middle), Vice President Dick Cheney, Jack Cackler (Longfellow Middle), Eric Price (Longfellow Middle), President George W. Bush, Coach Barbara Burnett (Longfellow Middle), Thomas Mildorf (Carl Sandburg Middle). Eric Price was also the 3rd highest scoring individual in the Nation!
CONGRATULATIONS!!
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