There is a lot of chatter about potentially closing school or starting late due to the cold tomorrow.  Many schools have already made announcements for remote learning while other nearby districts have announced a 2 hour delay to the school day.  What about SHS?  Well, I am 95% confident that there is a not a 60% chance that there will not be a non-normal school day schedule tomorrow due to the cold.  

Now that we cleared that up, let’s talk about tomorrow.  

Tuesday 7:40 AM.  Thank you to the 40+ students that have expressed interest in trying out for the 8person team.  Check your 8-person google classroom for our room location.  Get a ride to school!  It will be nice to not have to wait for a bus.  We hope to start right at 7:40, so do your best to be on time.  I know you are pumped to check out 8 person, but if SHS goes to a late start or cancels, then we will cancel our in person meeting and dispense material in the classroom.

Tuesday 8:30 AM – 3:25 PM.  Go support your math teacher!  Some of your teachers need a cheerleader – let them know they are doing a good job!  Some need to be challenged – tell them about some MATH TEAM questions you are having trouble with.  Some need help – give a thoughtful answer or offer an insightful question to help the class be the best it can be.

Tuesday 3:30 – 4:30. We are just over two weeks away from NSML #4.  Our time in MATH TEAM will be spent in polishing up ideas regarding systems, right triangles, polynomials, and conics.  Some years will dispense a practice contest to simulate the actual contest on February 6.  Reminder again that the February 6 contest is hosted here and we invite you all to come and be part of the NSML.  The email blast next week will ask for a head count so that we have enough material for everyone.

Monday 7:40 – midnight.  It’s Martin Luther King Jr. Day!  The “I have a dream” speech is one of the greatest speeches in US history.  Consider reading through or listening to the speech to close our your three day weekend. =)
https://www.npr.org/2010/01/18/122701268/i-have-a-dream-speech-in-its-entirety

I don’t hope to not see you tomorrow!
January 21, 2025
3:31 – 4:29
frosh/jr 1508-1510
soph/sr 1500-1502

daMathTeam

Get ready to sleigh your 2025 math goals!

… ok, I was going to make this whole email full of puns related to how cold it is outside, but I ran out of steam… wait… now the puns are snowballing… It’s an avalanche of bad puns now!  With visibility for miles and gusts of puns at 100 miles per hour! 

ok.  It’s out of my system now.  I’m done.  But sheesh!!! It’s so cold outside!

Barring a cold day that shuts down the school, we will meet for the first MATH TEAM meeting of the year tomorrow!

1.  We prepare for NSML.  Tomorrow we will teach topics and expose you to topics related to the fourth NSML event of the year.  This is an event we host here at Stevenson on February 6, so you are all invited to come!  No pressure on making any bus… we invite all interested MATH TEAM members to prepare with us and post an official score for NSML.  Please make sure you clear up your schedule on February 6.  NSML #4 is the last topic related NSML event of the year.  NSML #5 covers the previous 4 topics, so this is the last opportunity to load up on a single topic of study.

2.  We will provide details on how to qualify for regional and state competition.  It’s a crazy thought, but some MATH TEAM members were able to say for a whole year, “I’m the top math freshman/sophomore/junior in Illinois” or “I’m part of the top 8person team in the state.”  To be a part of these teams, you need to come out to MATH TEAM and gain a spot on our roster.  Step one is sign up for any team competitions you may be interested in.  Individual contests will be dispensed by your coach in the google classroom associated with your year.  The rooms below are new.  Information and tryout information will be dispensed in these google classrooms. If Sign up to learn more and tryout for a spot.

Frosh/Soph 2-person Google Classroom
fs2p will meet after school on Wednesday

Junior/Senior 2-person Google Classroom
js2p will meet after school on Wednesday

Calculator team Google Classroom
calc will meet after math team on Tuesday

Frosh/Soph 8person Google classroom
fs8p meets before school on Tuesday

Junior/Senior 8person Google classroom
js8p meets before school on Tuesday

3.  In the coming weeks we will talk about how to get involved in our last two community events: the junior high math circle and junior high math contest, some possible social events, and we will get orders in for our new math team swag!

See you tomorrow

January 14, 2025
1508/1510 frosh/jr
1500/1502 soph/sr
3:36 – 4:28

daMathTeam

Hello to the 320 folks on the MATH TEAM email blast!

As winter break comes to an end, many of you may be grappling with a condition known as Returnophobia—a post-break outbreak characterized by a reluctance to return to routines and a longing for endless winter vacation. Fortunately, MATH TEAM has been FDA approved as a proven remedy.

What Is Returnophobia?

Returnophobia (re-turn-oh-FOH-bee-uh) is a temporary condition among students that presents with symptoms such as:

• A strong resistance to setting alarms.
• Inability to focus for prolonged periods of time.
• Repetition of senseless activities.
• Repetition of senseless activities.
• Repetition of senseless activities.

It often occurs alongside Motivational Deficit Disorder (MDD), a state where zero mental inertia cannot overcome the coefficient of Getoutabed.

Your Treatment Plan

1.  Ease back into the school year.  MATH TEAM normally meets on Tuesday, but we will pause on January 7, 2025.  That way you can keep your afternoon nap routine on day 1 of the semester.  =)  The pause also allows the coaches and executive board members a week to plan out the rest of the year.  MATH TEAM reconvenes for our first meeting of the year on January 14, 2025. 

2.  The antidote to Returnophobia isn’t a complete shut down into apathy. The best treatment is to reengage with purpose.

• Rediscover the peculiar joy that math brings when you get things right.  
• Remember that problems are simply the difference between what one has and what one wants.
• Reconnect with peers who share your drive and curiosity.

Don’t let Returnophobia or Motivational Deficit Disorder keep you down.  If you are a regular MATH TEAM member, get ready for the best MATH TEAM semester ever.  If you have not come in a while, visit again on January 14 to kick off the semester with energy, enthusiasm, and a commitment to growth!

Now close out your email and enjoy one more day off. =)

daMathTeam

You get 8 semesters of high school… and we just about used one up.

Scarcity creates value.  For our seniors, we hope you are getting ready for an amazing last semester.  For all, we hope you finish this semester well and are ready to pile on more successes in the semesters to come.

Tomorrow in MATH TEAM, we’re hitting pause for some much needed fun in a stressful time for those trying to repair their grades. =)

We have some unopened snacks from the math carnival, and they need to be gone before winter break.  So what better way to give away food than with some friendly (and silly) competition?

MATH TEAM COACH trivia and random math questions with Kahoot!
Tears may be shed.  Bragging rights will be claimed.  Snacks will be yours.

2-person competition!
Bring your A-game, your teammate (we can also pair you up) – and let the games begin!  

Carve out some time in your schedule to join us for laid back math fun – it’s a great way to see some buds before we all head out for break.

We also have some ribbons to hand out along with snacks and glory for the winners.

Tuesday, December 17, 2024
3:33-4:29
NEW ROOMS!
frosh/soph in 1508/1510
jr/sr in 1500/1502

adios!
elEquipoDeMatemáticas

Woot!  Almost the end of 2024!

Can you believe there are only two more weeks this semester?  Amazing.  
Let’s close out 2024 strong.

1.  NSML 3
Get in your focus cave and prepare NSML 3 material!  This week Thursday we will take 40ish kids to Lake Forest High School where we hope to continue to separate from the pack.  It is not without effort!  Get into your google classroom and grind out another idea, read up another few pages, and look through one more contest.  That. Will. Make. A. Difference.  It really will.  If your content knowledge is there, then practice will work out the silly mistakes, the misread questions, and the time scramble for not working efficiently.  
It is quite likely we will have our last vetting contests at your grade level meetings tomorrow, so work to make it onto the bus! =)

2.  MATH TEAM kids made the internet!  Was poking around the internet and I found a couple of our upperclassmen online!

Angela Ho.
https://news.mit.edu/2024/math-prize-for-girls-mit-six-way-tie-1031
What a boss.  OMG.  Really?  So great!  Read up, be inspired, ask her questions. =)

Jaden Chen

Welcome to Scenario Quest: A Journey Through Risk and Discovery

Really? This guy must be reading a lot of sci-fi right now.  =). Really nice read and a fun way to describe math modeling. 

lotsOfYou
https://nsml.org/statistics/
Poke around the statistics page, and you may find your contribution to some of the scores this year and in past years.  You may even find your initials next to some high scores. 

See you tomorrow!
3:38 – 4:30
Frosh/Jr 1508/1510
Soph/sr: 1500/1502

DaMathTeam

Hi MATH TEAM

This week, we do not have our usual MATH TEAM meeting.  Many are already out for Thanksgiving break, and we want to get out of your way to… well… get out of here Tuesday and celebrate time off!  But we have a special challenge for you! As Thanksgiving approaches, let’s take some time to express gratitude in a mathy way. Choose one or more of these options to complete before next week:

1.  Write a quick email to a teacher thanking them for being a great teacher or for supporting you in your math journey. Even a few kind words can make their day!

2.  Write your own gratitude function with defined inputs. Here is an example:

3.  Get into your google classroom and do some problems assigned by your MATH TEAM coach.  The next NSML is soon after we get back.  Most classrooms will be doing a vetting contest after some more ideas on Tuesday December 3 when we meet again.

=)
enjoy some time off, 
daMathTeam

Hey there misfit. 

Not many choose to embrace math willingly. Most students scrape by, doing just enough math to earn a grade. But not us. We’re the mis-fits.  
Savor numbers, enjoy the peculiar joy that only math brings. Celebrate it. Own your MATH mis-fit status.  Encourage your math class, spark curiosity, ask better questions, push understanding further.  

And now for what to expect on Tuesday
It’s incredible to believe that the last time we met together was before the Math Carnival!  We will start our meeting in two rooms… sophomores and seniors in 1500/1502.  Freshmen and juniors in 1508/1510.  We’ll start by celebrating the success of the Math Carnival and passing out some awards from NSML #2.  Then we begin our efforts in the next topics.

Frosh: 
Basic Statistics: May include measures of central tendency (mean, median, and mode), box-and-whisker plots, two-way tables, stem and leaf, range. No variance. No standard deviation. 

Soph: 
Circles: Standard material. May include arcs, area, angles, power theorems, inscribed and circumscribed polygons, sectors and segments. Does not include trig nor equations of circles

Jr: 
Logarithms and Exponentials: May include domain and range, graphing, logarithms with positive bases including natural and base ten logs, emphasis on properties, exponential and logarithmic growth and decay, and applications. No complex numbers. 

Sr: 
Vectors: (Previously called Vector Analytic Graphing) May include two dimensional vector applications, two and three dimensional vectors, equations of lines and planes in space, scalar, cross products, perpendicularity and parallels, distance between points, lines, and planes. No calculus

No contests this week, just some introductions and practice.

Then at 4:30, those that signed up for CaLiOt should meet in 1500/1502.  
The Olympiad Training should start by 4:35 and end around 5:20.  For the 30+ that signed up, a problem set will be emailed to you tomorrow to familiarize yourself with the topic and notation before hearing from our senior students Caden and Lillian.  

One more full week before Thanksgiving break!  You can do it!

See ya tomorrow
3:35 – 4:25ish
Frosh/Jr 1508-1510
Soph/Sr 1500-1502

4:35 – 5:25
CaLiOt in 1500-1502

daMisFits

Greetings, Esteemed Mathletes!
Another week, another mathematical journey awaits! 
Now choose your destiny!!!

---

Path 1: The Phantom Tuesday Meeting
It’s Tuesday, and you’re feeling ready for our usual math team gathering. Do you:
   A) Head straight to our 1500 meeting rooms, ready to dive into equations.
   B) Recall rumors of a different challenge taking place…

If you choose A, you discover empty rooms where only the echoes of your own thoughts linger. Why?  There is no regular MATH TEAM meeting this Tuesday. 

If you choose B, your memory serves you well. No meeting this Tuesday – AMC contest instead! Prepare for battle! Bring your math weapons – pencils, rulers, compasses, erasers, and sharp wits – and rise to the challenge!  An email from Mr. Anderson tells you where your journey begins.

---

Path 2: NSML Victory Unveiled
You grasp the scroll containing the latest NSML results. Do you:
    A) Glance quickly, seeking confirmation of our progress.
    B) Read slowly, soaking in every detail of our triumph…

Either way, you cannot help but grin as you see it confirmed – we remain in first place with a 24-point lead! Each point is a testament to your dedication and preparation.  We are lucky to have you.

---

Path 3: The CaLiOt Quest
The winds of November carry a special call: CaLiOt – the Olympiad Training led by our esteemed seniors, Caden and Lilian. Do you:
    A) Decide to prepare in isolation.
    B) Seize the chance to learn from seasoned minds…

If you choose A, you might learn, but will miss the camaraderie and insights of your peers. 

If you choose B, punch your ticket for CaLiOt on November 19 by filling out the google form here  

Choose wisely, Mathletes, and let each step on your path lead you to mathematical greatness!

daMathTeam