For week 1, June 22-27, the
camp is aimed at students entering grades 5-8. For week 2, July
6-11, the camp is aimed at students entering grades 7-12. This does
give students in grades 7-8 the option of coming to either camp. To keep
the size manageable, the camp will be limited to 32
participants each week, so get your application
and
deposit in early.
No.
In fact you don't even have to enjoy the competition aspect of math
contests. You do need to enjoy math, as that will be the focus of our
time. Math contests will be the source of the kinds of math problems we
look at. Looking at math contest problems you will see a wide variety of
math topics that are not usually covered in the school classroom, so be
prepared to see and learn new mathematics. We will spend time looking at
the problems, learning how to do problems that are new to people.
You will develop creativity (needed for solving problems), discipline, and
self-confidence as you learn new (difficult) things. Problem solving
(especially problem solving under pressure) is a valuable life skill and that
skill is developed by math contests. We will have opportunities to
practice these skills as we will simulate some contests. You will do some
work with others at the camp to learn from, and be challenged by, your
peers. With all the skills mentioned, we are working on developing these
skills so you do not need to possess all these skills to come and enjoy the
camp.
Dr. Hopkins
has a Ph.D. in mathematics from the University of Illinois. He has taught
at Southwest Baptist University since Jan. 1989, and has been chair of the
mathematics department since May 1989. In 2000, a student approached him
about SBU hosting a math contest
. In 2008, we will be hosting our
9th annual contest
and are expecting about 850 on two dates. He has put together a webpage
with links to a
variety of contests . In 2003, he approached Bolivar Middle School
about starting a math contest club to help students prepare for MATHCOUNTS ® . In the 2005 competition, in
our second year of existence, the team from Bolivar
finished 4th (narrowly missing qualifying for state) at the regional
competition. One student did qualify for state. This same student
had qualified for the MCTM
state contest in 4th-6th grade and placed every year. That is Dr.
Hopkins' son, so he has a personal, as well as professional, interest in
preparing students for math contests. In the 2006 competition, two
students from Bolivar qualified for state MATHCOUNTS. One of those
finished twelfth in the state. He also ran into
some
former students there.
In summer 2004 and 2005, Dr. Hopkins taught a class similar
to this camp in Drury
University's Summerscape Program , a program for
middle school students who have been identified as gifted. He had good
success from that and in 2006 brought the camp to the
SBU campus. In 2006, 25 campers came and in
2007, 31 campers came. In summers 1993-1999, he directed a series of weeklong
summer workshops for about 450 teachers total. Some of these workshops
involved the use of technology in teaching mathematics. Others involved
the use of internet for math and science teachers. He has presented over 40 papers at state
and regional conferences, such as Missouri Council of Teachers of Mathematics,
National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, and Gifted Association of
Missouri. One of these talks was about his experiences
as a MATHCOUNTS coach and evaluation results from the 2004 Summerscape class are
included there . He has graded AP Calculus exams for one week in the
summer in 2002-2007 (see pictures from 2003 , 2005 , 2006,
2007 ). May
2006, he graded International
Baccalaureate exams for his first time. He also enjoys singing
math songs .
In December 2006 he was given the Faculty Life Beautiful Award. This award,
given annually, is among the highest honors that SBU bestows upon a faculty
member. Recipients of the Faculty Life Beautiful Award are selected by a
University-wide balloting process under the supervision of the Provost, and the
balloting involves all eligible faculty.
Criteria for the award include "Christlike behavior
in family, school, church, and social interactions," "participates
actively in worship and service in a body of Christian believers,"
"exhibits a Christlike lifestyle in his or her
personal and daily life." This award was featured in the March 2007
issue of SBU Life.
In
summer 2006, Dr.
Kevin Hopkins did a summer program focusing on math contests on the campus
of Southwest Baptist University. Twenty five campers attended. They
were from a variety of places: 4 were from Bolivar, 4 were from the
Springfield area, 2 were from Mississippi, 1 from Oklahoma, 4 from Northwest
Missouri, 3 from Southeast Missouri, 2 from Southcentral
Missouri, 2 from Central Missouri, and 3 from the St. Louis area. There
were 4 going into 5 grade, 11 going into 6th grade, 4
going into 7th grade, 5 going into 8th grade, and 1 going into 10th grade (came
with a younger sibling). We also had 4 counselors, in addition to the
camp director. A group photo is posted here . Early
in the week I posted photos of the
event to let parents check up on the camp and to adverstise
for 2007. I have posted brief information on the specific activities at
the camp. The camp concluded with a show for parents that gives a good
overview of how the camp went. One can also see evaluation results
from 2006.
The
cost is $375 for the week. That includes room (3 students per dorm room),
board, T-shirt, class photo, and activities. Should students wish to
commute to the camp (and not stay in the dorms overnight),
the cost will be $325 for the week. A $100 deposit is due with the
application form . A detailed information
sheet (where, what to bring, telephone #'s, etc.) will be sent upon receiving
your application. This is the second year for the camp. Sufficient
applicants are needed by May 1, 2008 to proceed with the camp. The
deposit will be returned if there are not sufficient applications received by
May 1. Cancellations after May 1 may not have the deposit returned.
Applications and deposits will be accepted until camp begins if space
remains.
|
8-8:45 |
breakfast |
|
9-11:30 |
Class
and activities in classroom (in McClelland Dining facility, or the Wheeler
Science Building) |
|
11:30-1 |
Lunch
and a break |
|
1-3:30
|
Class |
|
3:30-5:00 |
Recreation
time (SBU has a Wellness
Center with a pool, gym, and rock climbing wall). Dr. Hopkins will
be hiring someone to handle the non-math aspects of the camp who can be sure there is sufficient FUN time.
But, you should only come to the camp if DOING MATH is FUN, as that
will be the major focus of the camp. |
|
5:30-6:30 |
Dinner |
|
6:30-7:30 |
Math
relay or group game |
|
7:30-8:00
|
Free
time or Worship (a Christian worship service, with a band and some speaker
with mathematics background will be planned for some, if not every, evening). |
|
8-10
|
Computer
lab time (Thursday night a talent show?) |
|
10 |
Lights
Out. Students will be housed in a dorm on campus, three campers
per room. There will be a floor for male campers and a separate floor
for female campers. There will be dorm workers supervising the students
in the dorm at night. The week of the High School camp will have a
slightly later lights out time. |
All
meals, rooms, instruction and recreation will be on the campus of Southwest
Baptist University. Some recreation time will be in the Meyer Wellness
Center where there is a pool, racquetball courts, basketball courts, and a rock
climbing wall.
Campers should arrive 4 p.m. Sunday of the week, at
a pizza supper and then a get acquainted time (and perhaps a worship service).
Camp will conclude at 11 a.m. Friday of the week. There will be a
closing ceremony Friday 10-11 a.m.
The
camp will be held on the campus of Southwest
Baptist University in Bolivar, MO, but is not sponsored by SBU. It is
the personal work of Dr. Hopkins, Chair of the Mathematics Department at
Southwest Baptist University. Bolivar is 130 miles from Kansas City, 190
miles from St. Louis, and 25 miles north of Springfield. The Lake of the
Ozarks and Branson are nearby attractions families could visit before or after
dropping their camper off.
Although not officially sponsoring the camp, Southwest Baptist University is
the location of the facilities. Offering Christian higher education since
1878, Southwest Baptist University serves an enrollment of 3,400 students with
graduate and undergraduate programs. The views or beliefs set forth in
this web page do not necessarily reflect the views and beliefs of Southwest
Baptist University.
Since
MATHCOUNTS ® teams are in existence
already at many schools, it is possible that a coach might want to come to camp
with their team. Teachers might want to come without a team, just
to learn from the camp. Teachers have two options:
·
They can sign up
for a class and get graduate credit (3 hours at about $150 per hour).
This will require additional work and the room/board fee will be waived and
additional stipend will be paid. Amount of stipend will depend on number
of students attending the camp.
If
any teacher is interested in attending to learn or to help, please contact me
at khopkins@sbuniv.edu , so I can know that while I
work on finalizing camp details.
I
have lots of ideas that I am thinking about. Part of what we do will
depend on the size of the camp, the interest of the campers, and the interest
of any teacher/helpers there might be. Some of my ideas are to look at
math games (like Set, Xactika, Nim,
Twenty Four, and Pig), geoboard, logic activities,
geometry activities (even on computers), statistics activities (even on
computers), mathematical magic, sudukos, build polyhedra, do origami, learn about tesselations,
measure tall buildings, learn about animation, sing math songs and write math
stories, try our hand at logic puzzles, and investigate deciphering codes.
I hope so. I really feel that God is opening up many
doors for me to pursue this dream. I think there are students in Missouri
and beyond who would love the opportunities provided by this camp. Feel
free to contact me (
mailto:khopkins@sbuniv.edu ) if you have any suggestions to make and perhaps I can
incorporate them as I work on the details for the camp. You may also call
him at (417) 328-1675 or fax him at (417) 328-1658.
An application form and liability release form
is available here. At the time of application a $100 deposit will be required.
Dr. Hopkins has determined that sufficient numbers need to apply by May
1 for the camp to proceed. If low numbers force the cancellation of the
camp at this time, the deposit will be returned. If a camper cancels
after May 1, the deposit may not be returned as commitments (and expenses) will
already be made based on that reservation. If numbers are sufficient to
offer the camp and additional space remains, applications (with the deposit)
will be received until the camp begins.
Math Contest Camp is not sponsored by, or affiliated with, the MATHCOUNTS ® Foundation or with the AMC 10/12, or with any of the other contests.
This camp is the personal work of Dr. Hopkins. This page is produced by Dr.
Kevin W. Hopkins of Southwest Baptist
University . It was last modified on April 30, 2008.
