Page 24 - May 2014 Dell & Cannon

WHAT’S
Happening
at RE
22 May 2014 I Ransom Everglades School I Dell + Cannon
John Mistele ’17
qualified for round 3
(USAMO). He will go
on to take a 9-hour,
6-question test to
try to qualify for the
International US Math
Olympiad team.
RE Upper School Math Team’s Best Season Ever
Laura Morin, Mathematics Faculty
“Whenmost people think of math competitions, they probably envision a roomful of kids struggling to perform
complex calculations faster than the next person. But most of the problems in high-level competitions have
very little to do with calculations. Solving these problems requires a sophisticated grasp of mathematical
ideas, so that familiar concepts can be extended in new directions.
The mathematical procedures everyone learns in school aren’t
enough. Becoming an excellent problem solver demands creativity,
daring, and playfulness. A math competition is more like a game
than a test—a game played with the mind.” –Steve Olson
Every morning the members of the math team get to school at the
crack of dawn to prepare for and play sophisticated mind games
led by coaches Alexa Kalandiak ’17, Jack Kim ’17, Scott Renshaw
’17, Sarah Murray ’17, Andrea Wenrich ’17, and Lisette Tellez
‘17. The competitions the team participates in vary widely. Some
require algebraic solutions, others demand hand written proofs.
Some are 30 minutes in length, while others require 9 hours of
problem solving.
This year, the team participated in a total of 23 mathematics competitions. Despite being a young team, our
mathletes had some impressive results this season.
In the fall, the team sent 8 students to the University of Miami’s David Essner competition, a 3-hour proof-
based exam consisting of five problems. Five of our members made the top 20: John Mistele ’17, Jack Kim
’14, Lisette Tellez ’14, Bradley Jackson ’15 , and Eric Cai ’17.
In the early spring, our team participated in the American Mathematics Competition, a 25-question,
75-minute multiple choice exam. Eight of our students made it to round 2 (The top 10% of students in the
nation accomplished this): John Mistele ’17, Joon Kim ’17, Eric Cai ’17, Pancho Cabrera ’17, Patrick Visan
’17, Jack Kim ’14, Lisette Tellez ’14, and Alexa Kalandiak ’14. Further, John Mistele ’17 qualified for round
3 (USAMO). He will go on to take a 9-hour, 6-question test to try to qualify for the International US Math
Olympiad team.
In April the team attended the state convention and competition in Orlando, where several students earned
state trophies: Alexa Kalandiak ’14 (Scrapbook), Joon Kim ’17 (Vectors and Matrices and Gemini), John
Mistele ’17 (Probability and Gemini), and Guillermo Wenrich ’17 (Quadrilaterals).
Several team members are looking forward to attending their first national convention and competition in
Orlando in July.
Campus News
2014 RE Math Team
John Mistele ’17 preparing for USAMO