Parents,

Thank you for remembering to send an extra snack with your Pentathlete on Mondays!  Remember that there is no MP class next Monday because there is no school that day!

Division I — Continued learning Shape-Up.  Be sure to ask them how you can bump your opponent back to start.

Division II — Continued to work on Ramrod.  They learned the basic rules today and will add a few others next class.  Ask them the different ways we use to remember how long each rod it.

Division III — Finished up their second week with Contig 60.  This game uses math operations (addition, subtraction, multiplication and division) to place chips onto the board.  Practicing their math facts will help them more easily find the number combinations in this game.

Parents,

Please remember to register your child for the MP tournaments in the spring.  You may register online or by mail.  Please email me if you need a registration form.  The link to the online registration can be found in the links section on this page.

Also, we are again having problems with students being picked up late.  PLEASE pick up your children on time.  Late pick-up will result in removal from the club.  Thank you for your understanding.

Division I has been working on Hex-a-Gone.  They have moved onto the full size gameboard and are learning the rules.  Be sure to ask them how many pieces they are allowed to pick up on one turn.

Division II is continuing on Sum Dominos & Dice.  There are MANY rules to this game and it’s sometimes hard for some of the kids to pick up.  If your child seems to be having problems, please email me and I will get you some extra practice activities for them to do.  I’m happy to help in any way I can.  Be sure to ask your student how to place a “double.”

Division III has been working on Queens & Guards.  This has been a welcome change for some after Stars & Bars, which was harder to learn.  Ask your student what happens when they move a piece “into trap.”

I apologize for the delay in posting. 

Division I started a new game — Hex-a-Gone.  Hex-a-Gone uses wooden shape blocks for children to fill a shape pattern on the gameboard.  The students started on small shape pattern sheets to become familiar with the pieces and the placement of those pieces.  Next week, the students will see the full size gameboard and begin learning the rules to the game.

Division II also started a new game — Sum Dominos & Dice.  There are many rules to this game and this game can become very confusing, so any help you can give your students at home will be helpful to the coaches.  The students started learning how to roll the dice, add up the sum and find 2 dominos to play that also made that sum.  Next week, they will begin learning the rules to the game and the proper placement of the dominos.

Division III finished up their last week for Stars & Bars.  This game ran 5 weeks and some of our students are still having problems grasping the concepts of this game.  If this is the case, please email me (or your child’s coach) to get some extra worksheets to reinforce these concepts at home.  Next week, they will be starting their 3rd game, Queens and Guards.

Division I finished up Calla today.  They practiced with each other and went over worksheets to learn some different strategies.  They will start Hex-A-Gone next week.

Division II finished up PAR 55.  They also went over strategy worksheets and practiced against other students in their grade level.  Next week, they will start learning Sum Dominos and Dice.

Division III has one more week with their current game, Stars & Bars.  They learned about inside placement on the full size gameboard this week and will add the outer border next week.

Parents,

I hate to start off my post asking for help, but I am doing so tonight.  PLEASE speak with your students about their behavior during Math Pentathlon class.  They are there to learn math games and practice good sportsmanship.  Students doing anything other than that will recieve a phone call home and can be removed from the club.

We do have many students who show a real interest in these games and give 100% every week.  THANK YOU to those students and their families for supporting them!!

If you are interested in going to the tournament in the spring, please see the Tournament Registration link on the left hand side of this page to go to the Math Pentathlon website to register.  If you would rather mail it in, you can print out the form and mail it in with a check as payment.

Division I recap:

Division I students are on their 3rd week with Calla.  They went over some worksheets that focus on different strategies and practiced Calla one on one.

Division II recap:

Division II students continued on their third week with PAR 55.  They learned the “bump rule” to this game.  Be sure to ask your student to explain this rule to you.

Division III recap:

Division III students continued with Stars & Bars today, learning the rules for “inside placement” of cards on the full size game board.  This game is a little more rule intensive, so they will be spending 5 weeks total on this game.

Thank you so much for making sure the students are picked up on time!! 

Parents, please help us encourage your students to do their very best in class!!  We want all of our pentathletes to always do their best and show good sportsmanship!  Also, please remember to remind your students that they have Math Pentathlon on Monday mornings before coming to school.  We have had problems with a few students forgetting and getting on the buses or going in the car rider/walker lines.  A reminder to their teacher on Monday mornings might help as well.

Division I recap:

Today our Division I students were introduced to a new game — Calla.  If you have ever played Mancala, this game is very similar with only a few rule changes.  Ask your child how many cubes they need to collect in their calla to win…(at least 17.)

Division II recap:

Our Division II students also started a new game today — PAR 55.  Be sure to ask your child what PAR stands for…(perception attribute race.)  Students will move their pawn around the board by finding differences between different attribute blocks that are placed on the board.

Division III recap:

Stars and Bars is the name of the new game our Division III students started today.  Also a game based on differences in attributes, the students because familiar with the Stars & Bars cards and the different attributes with which they will be working.  Ask them what they are…(color, shape, stars and bars.)

Please try to make it to our next Monday Math Night, which will be next Monday, October 27th.  We start at 6:30 and this time we will have 2 games out for each Division.  For Division III, we will have a “pre-game” out for them to play called Triple Play.  This is a game related to Stars & Bars that helps lead into the game with the same concepts, but less rules to follow at first.  We had a great turn out for our first Monday Math Night and we hope to see the same kind of success with next week!!

Dear Parents,

What a change from last week!!  All of our Pentathletes got to the correct room and we were all able to start on time!  Please remind your students that they need to come directly to the MP classroom after dismissal.  We will allow them a restroom break and a snack time when they get to us…we don’t want them wandering the halls during this time.

You should all be recieving an email from your child’s coach regarding dismissal.  We still have a few of our younger friends that are confused as to whether they are a car rider or a walker.  Please be sure to respond to your coach to let them know how your child will be getting home.  The choices are CAR RIDER, WALKER or YMCA.

Division I recap: 

Our division I Pentathletes reviewed the rules to Kings and Quadraphes today.  This group also moved on to a larger 7×7 gameboard.  They will be playing on the full size versions next week.  They also learned what a challenge is.  Be sure to ask them how to challenge your opponent!

Division II recap:

Division II learned the basic rules to FIAR today.  FIAR stands for FOUR IN A ROW.  They played on the full size gameboards and learned the proper placement and movement of their chips.  Next week, they will start playing with the blocking chips.  Be sure to ask them how many spaces they can move their chips.

Division III recap:

Division III learned the rules to Juggle this week.  They played in teams and tried to entirely cover their gameboards with different polyominos.  Ask them what the difference is between the Exact Value Method and the Calculated Value Method.

Parents, please remember that Math Pentathlon is run entirely by volunteers!  Before they come to class, encourage your children to be good sports, when both winning and losing.  Remind them that they are to follow the rules on the Parent/Student contract that they signed.  While in class, they need to be constructive, good listeners and come ready to play the games.  When one or two children are disruptive, the rest of the class is distracted from learning the game as well.

We have a great group of kids this year and we look forward to teaching them the games, how to be good sports and preparing them for the tournament in the spring!  Have a great week!

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!