May 22, 2009 - 8:28am
Vancouver Island University recently hosted some of the brightest young minds on Central Vancouver Island at the final round of the 2009 BC Secondary School Math Contest (mid-island region). The event took place at VIU on May 8, 2009.
The B.C. Secondary School Math Contest is an annual event organized by several colleges and universities across the province. This is the fifteenth year that VIU has hosted the event. A committee made up of math faculty from different post-secondary institutions in B.C created the contest.
“The students did very well in the contest,” said Patrick Ng, VIU Math professor. “The top marks in the Junior Division were 97, 91.5 and 73 (out of 100) and the top marks in the Senior Division were 79, 76 and 73. Anything over 70 is a very good mark in these contests. More importantly, they all had fun participating. One teacher told me that some of his students see the contest as the highlight of the year.”
There are currently ten colleges and universities (Camosun, Capilano, CNC, Douglas, Langara, VIU, Northwest, Okanagan, TRU and UCFV) participating in this contest. Each college/university is responsible for organizing the event in their local school districts. The contest consists of two rounds - a preliminary round written at the high schools in March and a final round written at the local colleges/universities in late April or early May. Each round is further divided into two divisions: the junior division for grades 8 to 10 and the senior division for grades 11 and 12.
“This is a wonderful recruitment opportunity for VIU,” said Ng. “We invite 80 of the top students from districts 68 and 69 and show them what our Math department and Science & Technology department have to offer. It is also a great opportunity to connect with the teachers and a chance to discuss any curriculum changes and the teaching of mathematics in general.”
The preliminary round of this year's contest (15 multiple choice questions with a 45 min. time limit) was written at the local high schools on March 4. Close to 500 students participated and the top nine students from each school were invited to participate in the final round.
A total of 74 top math students: 33 juniors and 41 seniors from ten schools (Dover Bay, Kwalikum, John Barsby, Ladysmith, NDSS, Wellington, Woodlands, Malaspina International High School, Nanaimo Christian School and Aspengrove School) in districts 68 and 69 attended the final round of the contest. Each student had to answer 10 multiple-choice questions and five written questions in two hours. The top three students from each division received a $100 prize.
“We are very proud to host this event and it is very exciting to see so many young students take interest in and enjoy the challenge of mathematics,” said Ng.
Winners of this year’s contest included: (Junior division – Individual – First: Jason Wang (Dover), Second: Vivian Liu (Dover Bay), Third: Jin Gyu Lim (Aspengrove School). Junior division – Team – First: Dover Bay, Second: Nanaimo Christian School. Senior Division – Individual – First: Wei Sun (Dover Bay), Second: Taylor Zhang (Dover Bay), Third: Chris Canning (Wellington). Senior division – Team: First – Dover Bay, Second: Wellington.)
Tags: In the Community
