• May 31, 2018

    Boyce students excel in international math competition

    Luke Bishop Boyce Middle School sixth grader Luke Bishop recently achieved a perfect score of 25 in the international Mathematical Olympiads for Elementary and Middle School program.

    Within Luke’s division, there were 79,280 participants – only 196 (0.25 percent) of whom achieved a perfect score. His accomplishment was recognized with the George Lenchner Award, a special medallion named for the organization’s founder.

    In addition, five Boyce students earned the Gold Pin for scoring among the top two percent with a score of 23 or 24. Gold Pin awardees include fifth graders Jamie Barrett, Sam Berger and Esha Lathia; and sixth graders Alex Sun and Arjun Suresh.

    Silver Pins were earned by 11 students who scored among the top 10 percent. Earning Silver Pin awardees include Reese Copenhaver, Ryan Larocco, Tyler McClintock-Comeaux, Leona Chen, Mahir Parmar, Eitan Schwartz, Yuhong Shi, Grace Myers, Brian McFerran, Arya Patel and Shiven Verma.

    Overall, Boyce Middle School’s team won the school’s sixth consecutive plaque for placing in the top 10 percent.

    Boyce Middle School’s accelerated math team was named to the National Math Olympiad Honor Roll for placing among the top 10 percent of all competing teams. This marks the sixth consecutive year for this honor.

    The Math Olympiads program consists of five competitions administered over the course of five months. Students in grades 4 through 8 are given 25-30 minutes to complete five non-routine problems.

    Since 2010, Boyce Middle School’s accelerated math students have participated in the international Math Olympiads. Created in 1977 by Dr. George Lenchner, an internationally known math educator, the Math Olympiads went public in 1979. Nearly 150,000 students worldwide participate in the Olympiads each year.

    The stated goals of the program are as follows:

    • To stimulate enthusiasm and a love for Mathematics
    • To introduce important Mathematical concepts
    • To teach major strategies for problem solving
    • To develop Mathematical flexibility in solving problems
    • To strengthen Mathematical intuition
    • To foster Mathematical creativity and ingenuity
    • To provide for the satisfaction, joy, and thrill of meeting challenges