Table of Content

1. Winter Math Olympiad Training Class Registration
2. AMC 8 and MOEMS Competitions
3. Dr. Steven Chao Joins Avid Academy Coaching Staff
4. Stanford University Opens Online High School
5. Tips for Better Parent-School Relationship
6. MIT Admission on AP Exams for Middle Schoolers
7. College Board Released 2006 SAT Reports
8. Avid Students Performed Well at National Math Competitions

1. Winter Math Olympiad Training Class Registration

The Winter Session offers 10-week of Math Olympiad and Problem Solving training from December 2, 2006 to February 24, 2007 at Concordia University, Irvine, CA.  The registration period is November 14 - 26, 2006.  Current students should receive their renewal registration in the mail by November 17, 2006.  Prospective new students should schedule a qualifying exam and interview prior to registration.  For more information: 2006-2007 Math Olympiad Training Program Winter Session Registration.

2. FREE AMC 8 and MOEMS Competition

Orange County Math Circle, sponsored by Art of Problem Solving Foundation and Avid Academy for Gifted Youth, will host AMC 8 and MOEMS Round 1 competitions at Concordia University, Irvine, CA.

Date:         November 14, 2006
Time:        6:30 - 7:15 PM  MOEMS Round 1
                 7:30 - 8:30 PM  AMC 8
Location:  Concordia University, Irvine.  Library Art Building, Room LA-123.

3. Dr. Steven Chao Joins Avid Academy Coaching Staff

Dr. Steven Chao joins Avid Academy coaching staff effective October 30, 2006.  He will coach our Physics Olympiad and Problem Solving programs.  Dr. Chao received his Ph.D. in Physics from University of California, Irvine.  He has over 20 years of teaching experiences in higher education.

Avid Academy for Gifted Youth offers a unique 20-week Physics Olympiad program that combines Physics Olympiad Preliminary Exam and Physics Bowl competition with SAT II Physics and AP Physics B preparation to maximize learning efficiency and effectiveness.  The inaugural class kicked off on November 4, 2006.  A second session will start in January 2007.

Stanford University opens an online high school by the University's EPGY program (Education Program for Gifted Youth).  The school was designed to provide an environment for academically advanced high school students to realize their full potential by offering courses beyond the upper limit of learning at most high schools.  For more information: Stanford Online High School.

"In many ways, parents are the most important teachers children will ever have. But drawing them into schools is often difficult. So is forging a constructive parent-school relationship. Teachers complain about parents who meddle too much and those who can't be found. Parents say that educators claim to want more involvement but that they belittle their suggestions."

Here are 10 recommendations for better relations from educators and school-savvy parents by Washington Post writer Jay Matthews.

I recently had an email exchange with MIT admission office on their view of middle school students take the AP exams and received permission to share their response.

Question: Are AP exams taken by middle school students considered toward your admission decisions?

Response:  "We'd be happy to see the scores from 6th and 7th grades. With admissions decisions, we don’t have a preference with regard to when the AP courses or tests were taken.  For the most part, admissions officers do want to see activities and classes taken in high school, although we would be interested in extraordinary examples of classes or activities begun earlier. For example, advanced level courses in middle/elementary school, or longstanding and continued involvement in an organization/activity would be fine to list on an application."

If you have a gifted child who is interested in MIT, you should get to know Mr. Matt McGann of MIT Admissions.  One of his responsibilities is to promote MIT among gifted students community.  He authors a blog on MIT Admissions and a few other subjects.  Here are some interesting entries:

• Homeschooled Applicants
• Supplemental Materials - how to submit special talent portfolios such as music, art, research papers, etc.
• Straight from the Dean's mouth - Marilee Jones, MIT Dean of Admissions, on SAT scores, AP courses, 9th grade grades, female admission at MIT, etc.

College Board released 2006 College-Bound Seniors Total Group Profile Report.  Several math-related statistics caught my attention:

1. About 1.46 million students took the SAT exams.  On average, male students outperformed female students by 34 points in math.
2. The SAT Math score at 75th percentile is 600, a score many of the MATHCOUNTS contestants can easily reach if they master the materials covered in the 2006 MATHCOUNTS School Handbook.
3. More than 32,000 students achieved a score between 750 - 800 and 65,000 students scored between 700 - 749 in math.  It offers a clear evidence that above-700 SAT scores are necessities, but not differentiators for admission into selective colleges.
4. Average math score of Asian Americans are 40 points higher than white and more than 100 points higher than other ethnics groups.  It is inevitable that many high scoring Asians will not be accepted in favor of diversity among all ethnics groups.
5. Family income and parent education levels are two of the best predictors of SAT scores.  Every $10,000 increase in family income translate into about 10 points increase in SAT Math.  Same is true for Critical Reading and Writing.
6. 97% of the students took Biology, 88% of the students took Chemistry, but only 53% of the students took Physics in high school.  Students who took Physics have the highest SAT I Math scores.
7. 22% of the students who took SAT II Math Level 2 achieved scores between 750 - 800.  For science, 20% of Physics, 17% of Chemistry, and 12% of Biology scores are between 750 - 800.

Avid Academy students participated in two national math competitions in October, 2006:

1. National Assessment Fall 2006 Start-Up Contest: Johnny Li (8th grade) and Alex Pusey (8th grade) placed 3rd and 7th nationally in the middle school division.
2. The Mandelbrot Competition: Four Avid students made the Round 1 Leader Board: Alex Pusey (8th grade), Johnny Li (8th grade), Michael Lindeborg (9th grade), and Hanna Hurr (9th grade).  Congratulations!