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!