2009 Orange County Math Olympiad Summer Camp Registration

Avid Academy offers enrichment programs that allow each student to pursue his or her passion in math and science.  2009 Orange County Math Olympiad Summer Camp will be held on the following dates:

• Session A: July 6 - July 17, 2009
• Session B: July 19 - July 31, 2009

For more information, please visit 2009 Orange County Math Olympiad Summer Camp.  To register, please download the 2009 Orange County Math Olympiad Summer Camp Registration Form.

The first Summer Camp session begins next week.  If you have registered for any of the summer classes, please read the Pre-Camp Briefing and go over the instructions with your student.  It details the dates, times, and location of the camp, as well as the supplies required and behavior expected from camp participants.   Furthermore, if you need directions to the Concordia University Campus, where we will hold Summer Camp, please see the Concordia University Map.  We will be meeting in Grimm Hall, so the best parking lot is in the main Visitor Parking Lot adjacent to the hall, in the bottom right corner of the map.

For updates, picture posts, and camp information, please visit our 2009 Summer Camp Blog.

How to Register?

To register, please follow these steps.

1. Schedule a qualifying exam: The summer program is designed to challenge gifted math students.  All students must take a qualifying exam except the following:

• Current Avid Academy year-round students
• Students enrolled in a GATE program in your school district
• Students identified as gifted by CTY, EPGY, or other organizations.

If a student would like to take an accelerated path, then a placement exam is required.

To schedule a qualifying or placement exam, please click on the following BOOKNOW button to schedule the exam. 

2. Download the registration form: 2009 Orange County Math Olympiad Registration form.

3. Send in the Registration Form and Payment.  The registration deadline is June 15, 2009.  We accept about 25 students per session.  Students are accepted on a first-come, first-serve basis.  Therefore, it is advisable to register as early as you can to secure a spot.

2009 Orange County Math Club Coaches of the Year

• Mrs. Ester Tarui, Tijeras Creek Elementary School, Rancho Santa Margarita
• Mrs. Angelina Atmadja, Kraemer Middle School, Placentia

2008 Orange County Math Club Coaches of the Year

• Ms. Amber Baur, Eastbluff Elementary School, Newport Beach
• Mrs. Pauline Embree, Rancho San Joaquin Middle School, Irvine

Our Approach to Gifted Education and Math Problem Solving

Avid Academy for Gifted Youth provides extra-curricular Math and Physics Olympiad and Problem Solving Programs to gifted students in grades 3 - 11.  We prepare our students to take on the most rigorous math and science curriculum sequences. We can guide students and their families in developing their math talent through enrichment and acceleration classes, elite summer camps, and high school math and science research programs.

Avid Academy for Gifted Youth also provides opportunities for students to participate in the National and State Math Competitions. 

We provide math olympiad and problem solving training to the best and brightest students in Orange County.

Target Audience

Our gifted education programs are designed for two types of talented math students:

• Bright Students who enjoy school, work hard, complete assignments, and understand math concepts easily.  They are high achievers who are willing to put in the extra effort to master problem solving and use their problem solving skills not only to learn mathematics, but also expand their knowledge in other disciplines to build an impressive academic curriculum.
• Gifted Learners who master basic math skills with unusual speed and see relationships among math concepts intuitively.  Some of them may even be underachievers; gifted learners have the potential to develop a passion and achieve greater success in mathematics if they are challenged by experienced coaches and surrounded by a community of motivated peers.

Statement of Differenciations

Applying lastest research in gifted education, math problem solving, and instructional design, we designed our training program with the following unique features:

Teaching the art of problem solving to develop life-long learning skills.  We use mathematics as a mean to develop critical thinking and problem solving skills.  Thinking skills are more important than memorizing mathematical facts.  Therefore, our programs integrate problem solving with mental math, logical reasoning, communication, and organizational skills to develop life-long learning skills for gifted children.

Supplementing regular school math curriculum by filling gaps, expanding scope, and adding depth.  School math curriculums are based on California State Board of Education content standards in mathematics.  However, these standards are not challenging enough for bright and gifted students who consistently rank in the top 20% of their class.  Our curriculum is based on two benchmarks: a) GPA, SAT, and AP scores of the students who were admitted into American's Best Colleges and b) top 15,000 high school students who participated in the American Invitational Mathematical Examination (AIME).

Exploring math concepts in an intellectually stimulating and fun environment.  Our coaches are not only knowledgeable in mathematics, but also master motivators who love to work with gifted children.  We select problem solving tasks that emulate the practice of mathematicians, develop abstract reasoning, reward good study habits, and challenge brilliant minds.  Our goal is to make gifted children enjoy mathematics.

Creating a community of high achievers and gifted learners.  We provide education seminars and networking opportunities so that families of gifted children can share ideas, resources and experiences.  Social skills and emotional development are critical to the success of talented students.  Our environment enables talented math students to join gifted peers so that they may learn, inspire, and motivate each other.

Participating in academic competitions to build sportsmanship, character, and teamwork.  Like a sport, intellectual pursuit is achieved through individual excellence and team building.  Math competitions enable gifted children to challenge themselves, sharpen test skills, and develop a love for math and problem solving.  The competitions also enable gifted children to explore, expand, and excel in their journey of learning.  The achievements from these competitions are widely recognized by elite colleges as special talents.