This past month Delta Grade 4–7 students came together for the Annual Math Celebration. This collaborative, non-competitive even has been growing for well-over ten years, and this year had over 300 participants.
Organized by Delta Math Coordinator Jacob Martens, the two-day celebration is an opportunity for young students to feed their passion for math.
“At Math Celebration two very important things happen,” says Martens. “Teams of students talk as they work collaboratively to solve a challenging problem, which is an important skill. And hearing students thinking aloud is a powerful learning opportunity for the volunteer judges and the teachers in the room. It’s an chance for us to listen to students’ “math talk” and better understand how they are applying their math awareness and skills.”
Although the event is non-competitive, that doesn’t preclude the teams from showing some school pride. Each group of mathletes proudly wore their school jerseys, and with two teams at a table… the focus and determination was palpable.
Students work to solve a number of problems; however, each team receives the same problem at the same time from a volunteer math adjudicator, who also observes the work.
Adds Martens, “Math Celebration would not happen without several key people: Principal Mark Douangchanh ensured the gymnasium as available and that we had student volunteers to help setup and takedown tables and chairs for over 120 people. A big thank-you to Irene Tan, our Master of Ceremonies at Port Guichon and Tanya Durman who was the MC at Richardson Elementary, and Donna Bletcher who was recruited to help train our judges. Several student teachers volunteered their afternoon to help set up and to help on the day. And last but not least, the over 55 parents and teachers who bravely volunteered to serve as judges!”
Read Jacob Martens’ Math Blog: https://deltalearns.ca/numeracy/