The Bethpage Board of Education held its meeting at Central Boulevard Elementary School on March 19th. John Titolo, Director of Mathematics, kicked off the meeting with a presentation about some of the fantastic math programs that have been implemented in the schools.
Mr. Titolo discussed how important mathematical thinking is in everyday life. He also educated the board and the community on “March Mathness” which is taking place in the elementary schools. This is a month devoted to the mathematical thinking that people use every day. Elementary students follow a March Mathness calendar that features a different math activity for students and families to do each day. The goal is to get them to tap into their mathematical thinking. For example, on March 1, students learned that bakers use numbers and measurement. They were challenged to bake their favorite dessert with their families over the weekend.
In addition, Mr. Titolo spoke about how games are utilized in the district to promote mathematical thinking. To further emphasize this point, he introduced Allison Robb, elementary math specialist at Central Boulevard School and advisor of the school’s Math Olympiad team. Ms. Robb, along with five Math Olympiad students – Travis Arora, Zoe Bacani, Mackenzie Ruppert, Jackson Shadock and Travis Wong – spoke during the meeting. The students shared what they love the most about the program and Ms. Robb shared that the team meets every Monday morning to work on creative and challenging math problems. Charles Campagne Elementary School and Kramer Lane Elementary School also have Math Olympiad teams.
Ms. Robb explained that Math Olympiad students participate in five contests a year to showcase their problem-solving skills. Although the season is about to end, students are gearing up to compete in the Nassau County Math Competition which will take place at SUNY Old Westbury this spring. She also shared that Math Olympiad students participate in math games during their meetings. The five Math Olympians helped demonstrate one of their favorite mental math games, Adsumudi. They played against board members and successfully showcased how quickly they can problem solve.
Mr. Titolo thanked Ms. Robb and her students for highlighting the math enrichment program and spoke about how this enrichment continues into the secondary level with special math programs, courses and math fair opportunities. He also shared that starting next school year, Bethpage High School will have its first Math Honor Society.
The presentation was a great glimpse into Bethpage’s math department and all that is to come.
