Parents,

We are into the 2008-2009 Math Pentathlon season!  We had a bit of a late start today making sure we got all the kids to where they were supposed to be, but overall I think things went smoothly!  We will not be gathering the kids in the library next week…they will be released from their classrooms and will go to the SAME room that they were in this week.  Please refer to the sheet that went home on Friday for their coach/room information.

We will be changing dismissal next week.  We have never had 140 students in the afterschool program and we just weren’t sure how to best release them.  It was a little crazy this afternoon and we will be working out another way to release them next week.  Please be sure to check this blog for updated information later in the week on new dismissal procedures.

Again, if you have not received any email from me, please let me know so that I can add you to our list!

Division I recap:

Our Division I students started this week with Kings and Quadraphages.  They all started with a 5×5 game board and will move to a larger one next week.  Be sure to ask them the difference between a King and a Quadraphage!!

Division II students started this week with FIAR…be sure to ask them what FIAR stands for.  These students played smaller versions of the game with rules that are similar to the standard rules for FIAR.  We will move on to actual game explaination next week.

Division III students started this week with Juggle.  For those of you who have ever played Blockus, this game is very similar to that.  They use polyominos to try to completely fill their game boards before their opponent.  Ask them if they know the maximum number to pentominos they can fit on their gameboards.

I hope everyone had fun and learned at least one new thing during today’s classes.  If you would like to read the “Highlights” of each of the games, please visit the following links:

Division I Highlights — http://www.mathpentath.org/pdf/highlightsdiv1.pdf

Division II Highlights — http://www.mathpentath.org/pdf/highlightsdiv2.pdf

Division III Highlights — http://www.mathpentath.org/pdf/highlightsdiv3.pdf

As always, please feel free to comment or send me an email directly at ashoepe@austin.rr.com with any questions.  Thanks and have a great week!