Mathlympics

As head of the math department, I led the development of Mathlympics, a full-day math competition for grades 6-12. It's become an annual tradition since 2016, and the competition is always fierce. Students participate in a variety of activities:

• free throw / soccer shoot-outs,

• logic puzzles,

• coding challenges,

• unlock the box (like an escape room),

• head-to-head competitions (e.g., 24, dots & boxes, chess),

• and a reflection circle

I co-taught a session at the 2018 EL Education National Conference to demo some of our most popular activities and help participants plan the logistical aspects of hosting Mathlympics at their own school.

Every year we refine the activities based on staff and student feedback. We're always looking to minimize the number of different activities that each teacher runs, include new challenges to keep things fresh, and organizing the materials to help the day run smoothly.

We used to love LightBot as part of the coding challenge, but with Flash discontinued, the only option was installing it on iPads or tablets. If your school has an iPad cart, check this game out!