Math Enrichment
at Linwood E. Howe Elementary School

...going beyond the numbers to mathematical thinking

2006-07 Mathlete Team

Team Photos and Mathletes Names

2006- 07 First Linwood Howe Team Names in photo above (names left to right):

Culver City Newspaper Articles

    November 14, 2006 Culver City News and November 16, 2006, Culver City Observer -- text of articles is below

      Picture Caption: MATH WIZARDS--Linwood Howe elementary school “Mathletes” pose with instructors Jason Frand (at left) and Karen Burkenheim (at right) before competing this week in the first round of the Mathematics Olympiad at the school.

    Linwood Howe School “Mathletes” Hit Winning Numbers in Olympics
    by Mike Cohen, Reporter

    Thirty Linwood Howe elementary “Mathletes” earned solid scores in the first round of the Mathematics Olympiad held this week at the school. The international competition attracts 150,000 fourth through eighth graders from 5,000 worldwide teams.

    Dr. Jason Frand, a recently retired professor and assistant dean at the UCLA Anderson School of Management, is the volunteer coach and coordinator of the program.

    “For their first ever competition, these youngsters performed beyond our expectations. We are proud of their achievements,” said Frand, a Culver City resident, who noted his goal is to show the students how mathematics can be fun and exciting.

    The overall goals of the program are to stimulate enthusiasm for problem solving and mathematics, deepen understanding of mathematical concepts, and explore concepts that might not otherwise be encountered, according to Frand. The focus is on critical thinking and not arithmetic skills.

    A sample 90-second question might be: “The pages of a book are numbered from 1 to 200. How many times does the digit 7 appear?” A recent inquiry was, “Using four lines through a circle, what is the largest number of regions you can create within the circle?” Answers are at the end of this article.

    Resulting from a meeting last spring between Frand and Linwood Howe principal Rosalind LaBriola, the Math Olympiad program (www.moems.org), which is held in 50 states and 25 countries, began this fall at the Culver City public elementary school as an enrichment program.

    About 10 students from each fifth grade class taught by Zach Bastoky, Karen Burkenheim, and Greg Holman meet with Burkenheim for math class each day. The math enrichment sessions led by Frand are held during math time twice a week.

    The Culver City Lions Club donated team t-shirts.

    Answers: The digit 7 appears 40 times in the first 200 pages of a book. A circle with four lines makes as many as 11 regions.

     

                      

  Goals Approach & About Us - Mathlete Teams - Resources & Ideas

This Math Enrichment site was developed by Jason Frand, PhD, Linwood E. Howe Elementary Math Enrichment Coach,
and was last updated on February 20, 2007. Please email questions and suggestions to him.

Clip art from ClipsAhoy.com and licensed from the Clip Art Gallery on DiscoverySchool.com