SBU Math Contest 2019-2020

Oct. 26, 2019

Please make advance reservations as soon as possible using the online form at https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfHXMX3u6i3Wv2ifA4fLUycezM_zjCKS2Vh71i2BskcJ5ujDA/viewform?usp=sf_link

Registration will be capped at the first 500 students due to testing space limitations. It is expected this cap will be reached. Given the space restriction, I would prefer Missouri students grade 4 and up fill available spots before third grade students or out of state students, but I will not enforce that preference.

As of Oct. 4, capacity has been reached. A short waiting list will be accepted in case actual student registrations come in less than original reservations.

Students and schools must be registered BEFORE the contest. Students arriving at the contest without the school already registered will not be allowed to participate. Registration instructions will be given by late September via email to the schools who submitted advance reservations. Please enter the students' names and grades directly into the database, if at all possible.

Southwest Baptist University

Department of Mathematics

Math Club Sponsor or other potentially interested teacher:

The Southwest Baptist University department of math is planning to host (or assist with hosting) a variety of contests in 2019-20. If you want/need additional information on a particular contest, please email Dr. Hopkins (khopkins@sbuniv.edu)

The Southwest Baptist University department of math is planning to host its twentyfirst annual Math Contest on Saturday, Oct. 26, 2019 on the campus of Southwest Baptist University. We are offering ONE date only and capping at 500 total students (that is all we have space to handle on one day). This year the contest is for Elementary (grades 4-6) AND Middle School (grades 6-8) students.

Changes continuing from 2014

MCTM moved to having mathleague.org write the contests for grades 4-6 and 6-8 for the MCTM contests. With that change, our contest will also be using tests written by mathleague.org (they have a sample set of tests you can request at their site and http://sacmath.webs.com/testdetails.htm gives some links to places with tests similar to what mathleague.org provides . The 4-6 contest will all be the same set of tests, but students are ranked by grade level. This will be considered an MCTM regional qualifying event for Elementary students and an MCTM state qualifying event for Middle School students. Missouri Elementary students who qualify for a regional competition in March will need to compete in the region specified by the MCTM regional map at https://www.moctm.org/Regional.aspx . Look at the calendar of mathleague events at http://mathleague.org/esevents.php (for elementary) and http://mathleague.org/msevents.php (for Middle School) to be sure to only attend one mathleague event per qualifying round.

I have modified the schedule for the day, as the tests offered by mathleague will take longer to do than what we have used in the past. We will need to start our contest at 9:30, rather than 10 am.

We hope that many local schools use our contest as a warm-up for the regional MATHCOUNTS® (a Middle School Contest) contests in February. This contest has limits on the number of students per grade level that can attend, but OUR CONTEST HAS NO SUCH LIMITS. Please bring as many students as you like. Start encouraging, recruiting and preparing students now. Perhaps you can use our contest results to help make the decisions on which students to take to these later contests.

I think the time spent preparing students for math contests is very worthwhile and I would encourage you to get involved. There are many other math contests out there. I have prepared a webpage, https://sites.google.com/site/sbumathcon/other-math-contests , with links to many contests I have discovered on the web. Many of them have practice problems/tests available. There are also summer programs listed there. I have been working on some "worksheets" for contest preparation. You can find what I currently have available at https://www.geogebra.org/m/bhZq6V2G .

Since we are capping our attendance at 500 students, we are offering the option to reserve your space NOW for your school. To do so, use the online form at https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfHXMX3u6i3Wv2ifA4fLUycezM_zjCKS2Vh71i2BskcJ5ujDA/viewform?usp=sf_link with as accurate an estimate as you can of how many might attend (in a few weeks you will submit student names). Reservations will be taken in the order received. Once the cap of 500 is reached for a date, schools will be put on a waiting list in case openings occur (if reservations are cancelled or a school ends up with fewer students than they originally estimated). Guidelines for submitting names of students are given elsewhere in this letter, but reserve your space on your desired date NOW. If you are interested in attending, but the date or schedule causes some conflict, please let me know. There is not much I can do with this year’s contest, but I am always looking for ways to improve the contest and expand the number of students that can participate.

The anticipated schedule for the contests on October 26, 2019 will be as follows:

The Elementary Contest (grades 4-6) will follow the REVISED MCTM format (mathleague.org provides the tests for MCTM starting Spring 2014). For more information on MCTM contests, see https://www.moctm.org/ElementaryContest.aspx . Calculators will be allowed on some tests (and not on some tests--please check http://www.mathleague.org/ for specific rules on calculator use), but students will need to provide their own. For Missouri students, this is an MCTM qualifying event (but not MCTM sponsored, so does not appear on their list of qualifying events) to qualify for a regional competition in March. There are MCTM sponsored qualifying events in over Missouri locations later in 2019-2020 around the state. As long as these are in a different testing round, then schools may attend both the SBU contest, October 26, and an MCTM Elementary qualifying event in another round, including a mail-in round that schools will receive when they pay for mathleague.org membership.

The Middle School Contest (grades 6-8) will follow the mathleague.org and the MATHCOUNTS® (see http://www.mathcounts.org/ for more information-[Note: SBU's contest is not affiliated in any way with MATHCOUNTS®. MATHCOUNTS® is a registrered trademark of the MATHCOUNTS® Foundation.] ) format. Calculators are NOT permitted on the Sprint Round, but the Target Round and Team Test assume the use of calculators. Students will need to provide their own. We will have a countdown round after lunch. The top individual scorers (Double the Target plus Sprint score, but limited to a maximum of two per school) will compete (not yet sure of exact format. I want all grades represented and no one school dominating who participates). This is somewhat different than the MATHCOUNTS® format, but should permit more younger grade and more schools to participate. I always look forward to watching the countdown round and seeing how the younger students respond to seeing the challenge of that contest. Calculators are not allowed during the countdown round. For Missouri students, this is an MCTM qualifying event (but not MCTM sponsored, so does not appear on their list of qualifying events) and top Missouri scorers can participate in the state MCTM competition. There are MCTM sponsored qualifying events around the state. As long as these are in a different testing round, schools may attend both the SBU contest, October 26, and an MCTM Middle School qualifying event in February or some other mathleague qualifying round.

Awards will be given to the top five (or more depending on numbers taking each test) individual scorers in each grade level for each individual test. Ties will not be broken (if two people tie for first place, both will receive a first place award). The top three to five scoring teams on each team test will be recognized. There may be school awards this year (mathleague also provides some data processing assistance that may do school award computation without extra work).

We will return all students' exams to the sponsoring teachers. Whether you choose to return these tests to your students is up to you. PLEASE do not share the exams from a competition with anyone going to another mathleague.org qualifying event in the same round.

Each school is asked to send at least one coach/sponsor to assist in proctoring or grading during the time the students are testing. We ask for every 18 students you bring that you provide an adult to help. Our math majors will help with the grading. We WILL accept individual entrants (either the only student from a school or someone being home-schooled). A parent can accompany them.

The deadline for submitting student names will be October 21, but I encourage you to reserve your spots well in advance of submitting actual student names. There is a way of your submitting your registration online into the mathleague.org database that we will use for the contest. Follow the directions at https://sites.google.com/site/sbumathcon/home/registration-form On-site registration for the contests will occur in the Student Union building. The "large" group meetings (i.e, the Countdown Round and Awards Ceremony, both of which parents are welcome to attend) will be in Mabee Chapel. Davis Theater in the Union and classrooms around campus will be used for smaller group testing. We should have a hospitality room for bus drivers, and parents and siblings can wait in the Student Union while students are testing. Lunch will be provided in Mellers Dining Commons (cafeteria), which is located in the Student Union.

Cost will be $12 per student. This is a bit higher than past years when it was $10.00 per student (we had to find a new source for awards and other costs keep rising). The $12 cost covers both the contest and lunch in the SBU cafeteria. We hope this cost does not prohibit any interested student from participating. Checks should be made payable to Southwest Baptist University - Math Department. Purchase orders are acceptable or you may pay at the contest itself. If you have any other questions, you can email me at khopkins@sbuniv.edu or call me at 417-328-1675. Sponsors and parents may include $7.50 per person for lunch at the cafeteria with the registration fees or pay that day as registration is confirmed. Any parent or sponsor entering the cafeteria with their student is assumed to be eating and will need a meal ticket. At the door, with tax, lunch will cost $7.95.

On the morning of the contest, someone from your school will need to check in at the Student Union to receive updated information about the day's events. A map is available at https://www.sbuniv.edu/_resources/documents/campus-map.pdf. Thank you! Have a great day! We look forward to seeing you!

Dr. Kevin W. Hopkins