老大Vincent Bian 和他的好朋友Bryan Foo 今年夏天从Clemente 毕业, 去了Poolesville high school SMACS. 两人曾是Clemente math team 主力，为学校赢得州冠亚军立下汗马功劳。两人也参加了很多国家级和州级个人比赛并名列前茅. 三年来数学竞赛给他们带来了无尽的乐趣和学习的动力. 有感于很多孩子没有机会体会到数学竞赛的魅力(Clemente math team 很难考进), 他们决定在希望中文学校开设数学竞赛入门课. 

因为讲课是Volunteer性质的, 中文学校收费$70, 时间是周六4:00-4:50, 在Northwest high school，1月16号第一堂课. 感兴趣的请去HCS 网站报名.

以下是孩子们写的简介:

Introduction to Math Competitions

Are you bored in math class every day? Is it too easy for you? Well then, check out this class! Math should be about creative problem solving, instead of memorizing formulas. Trying something that you’ve never tried before, instead of repeating the same problems. Sharpening your brain, instead of letting it dull. Math competitions do just that, and just by trying them, you can gain a whole new perspective on math. This class will help you do well in MathCounts and the AMC series. Math classes and the SAT will be a breeze! On top of that, math competitions look great on résumés, and will endow you with problem solving skills that will last your whole life.

Target students: middle school students (or gifted 5th graders) that are interested in math and who want to take their problem solving skills to a new level.

Instructors

Bryan Foo: A seasoned mathlete who has participated in many middle school competitions. He was one of the best on Roberto Clemente MS’s MathCounts team, which consistently gets first or second on a state level. In the Math Kangaroo competition, he consistently finishes top 10 nationwide since 4th grade, getting top 3 for the past 3 years. He also qualified for the American Invitational Math Exam in 7th and 8th grade. He is a 9th grader at Poolesville High School in the prestigious SMCS program.

Vincent Bian: An experienced problem solver that has attended many national level competitions, including National MathCounts, which is open to only the top 4 mathletes in each state. The Maryland team went on to get 2nd place nationally that year. Also, he qualified for the AIME all three years in middle school, getting into the USA Junior Math Olympiad in 8th grade. In 9th grade, he got 7th place on the Number Theory test at the Princeton University Math Competition. He is also a 9th grader in the SMCS program at PHS.

Sample problems (in rough order of difficulty):

What are the last two digits of 707707?

A biker is 40% of the way through a tunnel when he hears a train coming from the near end. No matter which way he goes, he can escape the tunnel just as the train reaches that end. If the train goes at 60 mph, how fast does the biker go, in miles per hour?

How many ways can a 4-legged dog put on her socks and shoes, if she must put on the sock on each foot before the shoe?

Don’t worry if you can’t solve these: that’s what this class is for!