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Southwest Baptist University

Department of  Mathematics

Nov 19, 2008

Math Club Sponsor or other potentially interested teacher:

The Southwest Baptist University department of math is planning to host (or assist with hosting) a variety of contests in 2008-09.   If you want/need additional information on a particular contest, please email Dr. Hopkins (khopkins@sbuniv.edu)

Contest Name
 Contest Date
 Grades that Can Come
 Website for More Information
In most cases the registration form is there as well
ACSI College Prep Championship (limited to homeschool and Christian schools)--looks like there will be about 278 coming to this contest. Friday, November 21, 2008 9th-12th http://www.sbuniv.edu/acsi/
SBU Tenth Annual Math Contest
 Saturday, Jan. 24 and Saturday, Jan. 31, 2009

Capping each date at 350, so make advance registrations to reserve spots.  As of Nov. 19 we have 372 (FULL)  reserved for Jan. 24 and 378 (FULL) reserved for Jan. 31.  I am accepting schools onto a waiting list in case actual registrations are less than initial reservations.		 3rd-8th grade
 http://users.sbuniv.edu/~khopkins/tourney.htm
See also below in this letter.
MCTM Regional Elementary and Middle School Contest-Two separate contests but both hosted on same date by SBU Math Department
 anticipated date-April 4, 2009

Hopefully there will be other SW MO options in case of conflicts.
 4th-6th
7th-8th
 http://math.missouristate.edu/MCTMContests/main.html
Math Contest Camp 2009-not a contest, but a residential summer camp run by Dr. Hopkins (not the math department)
 Camp for 5th-8th grade students: June 21-26, 2009

Camp for 7th-12th grade students: July 5-10, 2009.
Camps will be capped at 32, so first come, first reserved.
 entering 5th-8th grade
entering 7th-12th grade
 http://users.sbuniv.edu/~khopkins/2009mcc.html


The Southwest Baptist University department of math is planning to host its tenth annual Math Contest on Saturday, Jan. 24, 2008, and on Saturday, Jan. 31, 2009, on the campus of Southwest Baptist University. We are offering two dates and capping each at 350 students to allow attendance to continue to increase without increasing our stress level. Schools may come either date, but all students from a school must come on the same date (since we return your tests). This year the contest is for Elementary (grades 3-6) AND Middle School (grades 7-8) students. In case of inclement weather, call Dr. Hopkins on the day prior to the contest at 417-328-1675, and his voicemail will give information as to the status of the contest.

We hope that many local schools use our contest as a warm-up for the MCTM (Missouri Council of Teachers of Mathematics) Elementary and Middle School contests held in March-April and/or regional MATHCOUNTS® (a Middle School Contest) contests in February. Both of these contests have limits on the number of students per grade level that can attend, but OUR CONTEST HAS NO SUCH LIMITS. Please bring as many students as you like. Start encouraging, recruiting and preparing students now. Perhaps you can use our contest results to help make the decisions on which students to take to these later contests.

I think the time spent preparing students for math contests is very worthwhile and I would encourage you to get involved. There are many other math contests out there. I have prepared a webpage, http://users.sbuniv.edu/~khopkins/tournoth.html links to many contests I have discovered on the web. Many of them have practice problems/tests available. There are also summer programs listed there.

Since we are capping our attendance at about 350 students each date, we are offering the option to reserve your space NOW for your school for the contest date you wish to come. To do so, please send me an email (khopkins@sbuniv.edu) with as accurate an estimate as you can of how many might attend  (in January you will send me actual names) and the date you plan to attend. Reservations will be taken in the order received. Once the cap of 350 is reached for a date, schools may select the other date or be put on a waiting list in case openings occur (if reservations are cancelled or a school ends up with fewer students than they originally estimated) on the date originally desired. Guidelines for submitting names of students are given later in this letter, but reserve your space on your desired date NOW. If you are interested in attending, but the dates or schedule causes some conflict, please let me know. There is not much I can do with this year’s contest, but I am always looking for ways to improve the contest and expand the number of students that can participate.

The schedule for the contests on January 24 and Jan. 31, 2009 will be as follows:

9:15 - 9:45 Registration in Student Union
10:00 - 10:40 MS-Target Round
Elem-Concepts Test
10:45 - 11:30 MS-Sprint Round
Elem-Problem Solving Test
11:40 - 12:00 Team Test-teams of 4 or fewer-
Multiple teams allowed per school.

12:00-1:15 Lunch in SBU’s cafeteria.  The SBU Bookstore may be open during lunch (or the registration time).
1:30 - 2:20 MS Countdown Round-top in 7th and 8th grade will participate.
2:20 - 3:00 Awards in Mabee Chapel
The Elementary Contest (grades 3-6) will try to follow the MCTM format (except the MCTM contest starts at 4th grade). For more information on MCTM contests, see http://math.missouristate.edu/MCTMContests/main.html (sample tests are available there). We will have one test for 3-4th graders and another test for 5-6th graders, but awards will be presented by grade level. There will be a team test (again one for 3rd-4th graders and another for 5th-6th graders) at our contest just to help the schedules of both contests match better. Calculators will be allowed on all these tests, but students will need to provide their own.

The Middle School Contest (grades 7-8) will follow more the MATHCOUNTS® (see http://www.mathcounts.org/ for more information-[Note:  SBU's contest is not affiliated in any way with MATHCOUNTS®.  MATHCOUNTS® is a registrered trademark of the MATHCOUNTS® Foundation.] ) than the MCTM format  ( http://math.missouristate.edu/MCTMContests/main.html ). Calculators are NOT permitted on the Sprint Round, but the Target Round and Team Test assume the use of calculators. Students will need to provide their own.  We will have a countdown round after lunch. The top individual scorers (Target plus Sprint score, but limited to a maximum of two per school) in seventh-grade will have a countdown competition, as will the top individual scorers in the eighth-grade. This is somewhat different than the MATHCOUNTS® format, but should permit more seventh-graders and more schools to participate. I'm looking forward to watching the countdown round and seeing how the younger students respond to seeing the challenge of that contest. Calculators are not allowed during the countdown round.

Awards will be given to the top five (or more depending on numbers taking each test) individual scorers in each grade level for each individual test. Ties will not be broken (if two people tie for first place, both will receive a first place award). The top three to five scoring teams on each team test will be recognized. For third-eighth grades, awards will be given to the top 10 students (sum of the two individual tests) in each grade level. There will be no school awards this year (should simplify some of the award processing work). There will be participation certificates and awards for all that participate.

We will return all students' exams to the sponsoring teachers. Whether you choose to return these tests to your students is up to you. Since we return the exams, all students from a school must come on the same date.

Each school is asked to send at least one coach/sponsor to assist in proctoring or grading during the time the students are testing. We ask for every 18 students you bring that you provide an adult to help. Our math majors will help with the grading. We WILL accept individual entrants (either the only student from a school or someone being home-schooled). A parent can accompany them.

The deadline for submitting student names will be Jan. 19 for the Jan. 24 contest and Jan. 26 for the Jan. 31 contest, but I encourage you to reserve your spots well in advance of submitting actual student names. On-site registration for the contests will occur in the Student Union building with the "large" group meetings (i.e, the Countdown Round and Awards Ceremony, both of which parents are welcome to attend) in Pike Auditorium in the Mabee Chapel building. Davis Theatre in the Union, classrooms in the Mabee Chapel building (and others if needed to accommodate numbers) will be used for smaller group testing. We should have a hospitality room for bus drivers, and parents and siblings can wait in the Student Union while students are testing. Lunch will be provided in Mellers Dining Commons (cafeteria), which is located in the Student Union. Please return the enclosed form with your entry fees by this date to the following address:

Dr. Kevin W. Hopkins
Chair, Department of Mathematics
Southwest Baptist University
1600 University Avenue
Bolivar, MO 65613


Cost will be $9.50 per student, which covers both the contest and lunch in the SBU cafeteria. We hope this cost does not prohibit any interested student from participating. Checks should be made payable to Southwest Baptist University - Math Department. Purchase orders are acceptable or you may pay at the contest itself. If you have any other questions, you can email me at khopkins@sbuniv.edu or call me at 417-328-1675. Fax registrations are accepted at 417-328-1658. Sponsors and parents may include $5.50 per person for lunch at the cafeteria with the registration fees or pay that day as registration is confirmed. Registration fees will be returned in case of inclement weather.

On the morning of the contest, someone from your school will need to check in at the Student Union to receive updated information about the day's events. A map is on the back page for your convenience. Thank you! Have a great day! We look forward to seeing you!
.
Dr. Kevin W. Hopkins

P.S. Not everyone who is getting this letter is known to be an Elementary or Middle School Math Club Sponsor. Some are high school teachers who came to past contests. Some of you I found from the MATHCOUNTS® database. To locate area private schools, I searched a variety of sites such as the Missouri Association of Christian Schools and the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph list of educational institutions. I may have a few private schools that do not teach grades 3-8. If this letter does not pertain to you directly, please pass it on to the person(s) in your building or district who would be best to receive it. This letter with the above link information is available at http://users.sbuniv.edu/~khopkins/tourney.htm , so it should be easy for you to send this information on to colleagues you think might be interested. Thanks for your help in getting the word out. I am excited about the possibilities for your students and for SBU. This is a GREAT opportunity to spark the mathematical interests of all your students.

INFORMATION ENCLOSED CONCERNING  
MATHEMATICS CONTESTS
AT SOUTHWEST BAPTIST UNIVERSITY

 ON JANUARY 24, 2009
OR JANUARY 31, 2009

Campus Map

For an online version of the map above, see http://www.sbuniv.edu/tour/index.htm