Dear Friend of Schools,
My name is Tom Clymer, and I want to help your organization administer an elementary math contest for your favorite district’s students. I’m a big believer in school math clubs, and have been involved with them for the 28 years since I joined one in the seventh grade. If my elementary school had had a math club, I’m sure I would have joined earlier. 🙂 Math Club isn’t for everyone, but it’s fantastic for the kids who finish their homework while the teacher is starting the lecture, the kids who do well after the lecture, and many members of an unexpected group: the kids who are not doing well in class because they find textbook work uninteresting.
I now have a daughter, and before she started school I’d already started a math club and joined the PTA. As a PTA officer trying to raise money for my school, I hated trying to choose which catalog we’d send home with students so that they could pitch overpriced junk to their families. I especially hated sending most of our families’ money to the company behind the catalog, rather than into classrooms.
Four years ago my math club and PTA worlds collided and I realized that I could “sell” a product that had educational value, rather than being sugar or plastic: a beginner-level math contest for all the elementary schools in our district! I created the Seahurst Elementary Math Bonanza and invited all the elementary schools in the Highline School District. The next year, my friend asked if he could use my materials and copy my methods, and the Wildwood Elementary Math Bonanza began for Federal Way Public Schools. Schools that sign up for our contests get practice materials ahead of time, enjoy the competition, and then get the solutions to the problems so that they can get excited for next year on the way home! Most schools in our districts did not have math clubs when we started the contests, but many of them have now caught the bug…
So why am I writing to you? After several years of success in Highline and Federal Way, my friend and I have realized that we can show other districts how to advance a culture of academic excellence while also raising money for schools. We’re planning a series of informal meetings to show how easy, fun, and profitable it can be to run a beginner-level math contest, and we’re hoping you and others in your organization will attend. Please invite them to:
Math Bonanza 101
Friday, January 18th, 5:30 PM
Bellevue Square Pagliacci Pizza
563 Bellevue Square
(425) 274-0472 (restaurant)
At this meeting, we will share our success stories and some pizza, then discuss what your organization could do to prepare for a successful contest. We’ll also do some quick demos so that attendees can see how they might run a contest. Afterwards, we’ll give them a CD with everything they’d need to run a great beginner-level math contest at a school, along with my e-mail address and phone number for the questions that will inevitably come up (actually, they’re below :-).
Please have them RSVP to tomclymer@gmail.com or 206-244-5214with their name and school, so that I’ll know how many pizzas and CDs to get. They should feel free to ask me questions before the meeting. Finally, please spread the word by passing this invitation on to others who might want to help their schools!
I hope that your organization will join us!