Awards Ceremony Address by Lisa Mack

Last spring, when we first began discussing the possibility of having a Math Pentathlon club here at Fern Bluff, I was encouraged to keep it small. Have 12 kids, maybe 20 total? Truly, my heart couldn’t handle the disappointment that would result in turning away any student (my disappointment) and so we set out to build a club in which parents could each offer their time and talents, which would allow us to grow it for more students. We set out to make a club where new friends from different grade levels helped each other learn how to play the games, how to think differently, how to see future moves, and how to defend their position. The Fern Bluff Math Pentathlon club is not simply an after-school activity. We are a family of families each participating in some aspect of the Math Pentathlon club at Fern Bluff. We knew the payoff was great: our kids would develop math strategies; and learn critical thinking skills, good sportsmanship, and self-confidence through game play. How can it get any better than that? Let me tell you how; by the numbers:

BY THE NUMBERS:

9 Teachers supporting us by letting us use their rooms each week for our classes

21 Moms & Dads as our full-time Volunteer Staff serving as coaches, rule experts, and monitors each and every Tuesday

32 Parents as rotating Volunteers on Tuesdays 57 Parents as Tournament Supervisors

136 Students in Math Pentathlon: 40 from Kinder/First, 60 from Second/Third, 36 from Fourth/Fifth

94 Students at 3 tournaments

20 Honorable Mentions earning 11 points

9 Bronze Medalists earning 12 points

17 Silver Medalists earning 13 points

5 Gold Medalists earning 14 points

7 Hall of Fame Gold Medalists earning 15 points. These kids won all 5 of their games!

And, finally, it gets better like this:

There is only ONE 2009 National Champion and it’s Fern Bluff Elementary!

Students in the News

Look for your kids in the news and on the news . . .

Wednesday, June 3, 2009
KEYE 5 PM, 6 PM, & 10 PM

Saturday, June 6 or Tuesday, June 9
Round Rock Leader

Wednesday, June 3, 2009
Community Impact
Web Article: http://impactnews.com/round-rock-pflugerville/recent-news/4688-fern-bluff-elementary-celebrates-math-pentathlon-national-victory

Wednesday June 3, 2009
Round Rock ISD Website
http://www.roundrockisd.org/index.aspx?page=3400&recordid=1564&returnURL=%2findex.aspx

Wednesday, June 3, 2009
Statesman, Metro section

Championship Award Ceremony

Reminder: Have your student wear his/her Math T-Shirt tomorrow for the ceremony. If your child won a medal, have him/her wear the medal too! EVEN students who did not attend tournament are a part of our team so all kids in Math Pentathlon club should come to school with their club T-shirt.

Ceremony: We will begin at 8:00 AM in the school courtyard with a presentation of the National Trophy and some words from Dr. Wilson and district representatives. The kids will then have a parade of champions around the school and will end in the gym with donuts and juice for all pentathletes, parents, and invited guests.

Fern Bluff Elementary Named Math Pentathlon National Champion

There are 15 Math Pentathlon National Championship schools in the United States. Fern Bluff Elementary in Round Rock ISD is now one of them.

Yesterday, Rene LeBlanc, Associate Director of the Pentathlon Institute, announced that once scores had been counted and confirmed for all schools nationwide, the Kinder —5th grade team at Fern Bluff Elementary took the Championship with 352 points.

“This is truly an incredible achievement for our kids and our coaches,” said Lisa Mack, Fern Bluff Elementary Math Pentathlon campus coordinator. “We know our kids are truly special and now the whole country knows.”

Tournaments have been held for the past 31 years with national championships awarded since 1994. Texas has been hosting tournaments since 1997 and this is only the 2nd time a school in Texas has won the national championship. Thousands of schools around the US have Math Pentathlon games in the schools either in the classroom or as an extracurricular enrichment program. In 2008-2009 there were 219 schools that participated in the national tournament.

What’s even more astonishing about the win is that this is the first year Fern Bluff Elementary has even had a Math Pentathlon club on campus. “Clearly the dedication of the coaches, rule experts, and parent volunteers working with the kids each week has made a huge difference on that campus,” noted Mr. LeBlanc. “They have an exceptional program, an exceptional staff of parents running the program, and exceptional students.”

At 8:00 AM on Wednesday, June 3rd, the campus will celebrate their victory with a presentation by Mr. LeBlanc and reception.

DIV III TOURNAMENT RESULTS: 4th & 5th Grade

SEVENTEEN 4th and 5th grade students took part in the National Math Pentathlon Tournament today. Another FANTASTIC experience for all of us as the kids played each of the games they have learned all year long with about 350 competitors from schools around Texas. Everyone seemed to have lots of fun and showed super sportsmanship and behavior. We are very proud of all the students who so wonderfully represented Fern Bluff Elementary.

HALL OF FAME Gold Medalists: John Davis, Praveen Elangovan, Kenyon Landt, Taylor Sims
(These kids won all five of their games!)

Silver Medalists: Rachel David, Marissa Lozano, Meghan Richardson, Garima Singh,Vishrudh Sriramprasad

Honorable Mentions: Arvind Ashok, Jack Dressendorfer, Nate Menke

Final Practice: Tuesday May 26

Fourth & Fifth graders going to tournament on Saturday should plan to attend a final practice Tuesday, May 26th from 3 PM - 4:30 PM in the science lab!

Tournament Scheduled for May 30th

The Division III and IV Math Pentathlon Academic Tournament for Texas has been rescheduled for:

May 30, 2009
New Date and Location
Austin ISD
Covington Middle School
3700 Convict Hill Rd | Austin, TX 78749