Math Students Score Again!

— from David Kau —

This year, Orcas Island’s Elementary and Middle Schools produced a record number of 27 students to compete in Washington State’s 2015 Math Olympiad.  The competition began this year on May 2nd, a Saturday morning at 8 AM, when 2,600 math students from 59 schools across the State gathered at 18 different sites to simultaneously take the 5th-8th grade tests.  All Orcas students attended a single site this year at Bainbridge’s Commodore Options School, with schools in attendance ranging from Bainbridge Island to Seattle, Poulsbo, and South Kitsap. The competition began with a one hour “Long Problem” that studied and predicted the flow of water measured at two transects along a hypothetical stream.  After a short break, students additionally tackled five 20 minute sets of “Short Problems”, separated into categories such as “Geometry” or “Statistics and Probability”.

For example, 8th grade students were asked to solve the following:

A data set consists of seven different positive whole numbers. The mean of the data is 76. What is the largest possible median of the data?   

Your friend asks for your help with your project because they know you could finish it in half the time it would take them. Without your help, it would take your friends 30 days to finish the project. Working together, how long will it take to finish the project?   

Orcas students were divided into teams of three or four students a piece, consisting of one 5th, one 6th, two 7th and four 8th grade teams. This year, Orcas teams earned 7 “excellent” scores with 3 teams medalling with their “superior” high scores.  Of special note, one of those teams was an Orcas team of 5th grade girls who earned their high score out of a whopping field of twenty-three other 5th grade teams at the site.

The fantastic two day field trip is made possible by the Orcas Island Education Foundation (OIEF) and the Orcas Island School District.  Countless hours each Spring are provided by volunteer parent coaches with extra help this year from Marcia West, former math teacher and Director of the Orcas Island Parks and Recreation District. The competition caps the end of a Middle School exploratory class taught by teacher Lori Oakes, and special thanks each year goes to Kyle Freeman who frequently leads the trip down to Bainbridge.