More than 700 “mathletes,” their family, friends and teachers too over the Shoreline Community College campus on Pi Day, March 14, 2015 for the Shoreline Math Olympiad math competition.
Dignitaries on hand for the awards ceremony in the gymnasium included Shoreline’s President Cheryl Roberts, schools Superintendent Rebecca Miner, school board members Mike Jacobs and Richard Potter, Shoreline City Council member Will Hall, Shoreline’s Dean of Science Susan Hoyne and math faculty Steven Bogart and Sasha Malinsky.
The annual event is for fourth- through eighth-grade students attending public and private schools in Shoreline and Lake Forest Park. Sponsors include the Shoreline School District, Shoreline Public Schools Foundation, Chuck Olsen Kia Chevrolet, Smart Service Subaru and Shoreline Community College, as well as support from numerous regional and local businesses.
Shoreline Math Olympiad awards medals to the top 40 percent of the individuals participating, and the top 60 percent of teams participating. The majority of Shoreline and Lake Forest Park schools host math clubs to encourage students to learn challenging, above grade level math concepts. Goals of the Shoreline Math Olympiad Program are to:
- Stimulate enthusiasm and a love for mathematics
- Develop mathematical flexibility in solving problems
- Strengthen mathematical intuition
- Foster mathematical creativity and ingenuity
- Provide for the satisfaction, joy, and thrill of meeting challenges
Teachers and parent volunteers coordinate math clubs which can range from small group work to full classroom settings. Students are presented with appropriate math problems that challenge each grade level. Most programs start meeting in the fall and conclude at the competition in the spring.