Distinguished Mathematicians Bring Wisdom and Fun 2019

I Love Math Day was a great celebration of the hard work Mustard Seed students have done over the past month.  Students in grades 4 - 8 have worked to solve many interesting and tricky problems appropriate for their age, and linked to some of the most important topics they study as part of their normal curriculum.

As they work on these problems, we encourage students to "be mathematicians."  They should collaborate, research, think, take breaks, make simplifying assumptions, try again, ask an expert, etc.  In short, they should do what mathematicians do.

Then on the big day, they get to talk to our visiting mathematicians to learn what they do when they work on problems.  Students also get to share some of their most creative solutions.  Our visitors make a most appreciative audience!

We were blessed with the best imaginable panelists:
Mr. Andrew Flores '05, Ms. Yvonne Thevenot P '17, Mr. Nick Martino '09, and Mr. Asa James P '24

Thunder and Lightning students listen carefully for wisdom from the panel!

A Fifth Grade student shares his thinking on the How Many Squares problem.

The winner of the Fourth grade guessing game.

And the Fifth grade winner.

Everyone is a winner on I Love Math Day!

Mr. James answers questions in the Sun Class

Ms. Thevenot and Mr. Bengali discuss the ways they use math with the Water Class.
Mr. Bengali is a colleague of Ms. Thevenot's.  He is a PhD candidate in Physics at Steven's Institute,
and he is one of the teachers for the after-school STEM program at Mustard Seed School.

Mr. Martino shares stories with the Sky and Trees classes.

One last shot of our panelists.  We are sorry that Andrew Flores missed this photo,
but glad that Roshan Bengali could join us for the celebration.

The Fourth And Final Problem for 2019

Students in Grades 6 - 8 have done extraordinary work on the first three problems for 2019.  Here is the fourth and final problem they are struggling with.

Matthew Speedster drove up a mountain road at 50 kilometers per hour.  He turned around instantly at the top and drove back down the same road very fast.  He wanted to be sure that when he got back to his starting point, the complete trip would average 100 kilometers per hour.  

How fast does he need to travel coming down the mountain?

When you finish this problem, please share your answer and your thinking with Mr. L.  He may have some follow up questions for you to consider.

Distinguished Guests for I Love Math Day

The highlight of Mustard Seed's I Love Math celebrations on February 14 are always the visiting mathematicians.  Mathematicians work in all different kinds of fields.  They use their love of math professionally, and also in their hobbies and life interests.  This year, four generous guests will be coming to share their experiences and their love of math with all of Mustard Seed School's students.

Just for fun, here are our guests in reverse alphabetical order:

Ms.Yvonne Thevenot -- Ms. Thevenot is well known to many students and families.  She is the Founder and Executive Director of STEM Kids NYC.  Her organization conducts a variety of STEM programs in the New York area, including the after-school program at Mustard Seed.  Her son Blaise graduated from the school in 2017.  Her special interests are to create and promote culturally responsive STEM curriculum and instruction, and to develop STEM identity within students.

Ms. Thevenot received a BS from University of Dayton in Ohio and a Master of Arts in Teaching, K-12 STEM from University of Southern California in Los Angeles.  She is completing her Master of Education from Columbia Teachers College.  She is also a Science Discovery Teacher at Columbia Teachers College, NY.

Mr. Nick Martino -- Mr. Martino works for the National Football League as a Video Coordinator.  He assists with the editing, distribution and uploading of all officiating video on the NFL officiating website, and helps with the officiating evaluation system.  Prior to this, Mr. Martino worked for Sports Info Solutions, a data intensive operation, to assess and score NFL and amateur football games.

Mr. Martino received a Bachelor of Science degree from Temple University with a major in Sport and Recreation Management.  After graduation he worked with the Temple University Football program as a Video Assistant and an Operations Assistant.  Mr. Martino graduated from Mustard Seed School in 2008, and he is the brother of Mr. Sam Martino.

Mr. Asa James -- Mr. James is employed by the City of New York to manage telephone networks for several buildings.  His work involves technology and quantitative assessment of the networks to make sure they are in good working order.  He is on-call to provide support for network emergencies.

Mr. James is also an actor, having credits in theater, film and television.  He enjoys music as a singer, guitar player and composer.  He also enjoys martial arts.  He is the father of Gabriel James in the Meadows class.  He was raised in Brooklyn.

Mr. Andrew Flores -- Mr. Flores graduated from Mustard Seed School in 2006.  He completed his high school studies at Eastern Christian, then went to Montclair State University.  He planned to major in art, but switched to psychology.  Today, he works at Foresters Financial Services in NYC, where he uses his math skills and psychology background to help clients save money for retirement, education, buying a house, and other life events.  He helps his clients consider investment alternatives, trying to get the best investment return for any given risk profile.

Andrew has worked many jobs during and after school including a delivery boy, cashier, busboy at Amanda's in Hoboken, a teachers assistant in college, and a pole vault coach.  Andrew still vaults competitively today.  (He will bring a pole when he visits!)

More Problems for Thunder and Lightning to Enjoy

Thunder and Lighting continue to work on an array of problems.  These fit in the category of "non-routine" problems.  Students are asked to solve something they probably have not seen before.  There is not a clear path to arrive at a solution.  They are designed to help students act just the way a mathematician would:

a.  Time is spent just to understand the problem.
b.  Clarifying questions are asked. 
c.  Students are given significant time to ponder.
d.  Students are encouraged to work with partners. 
e.  Conversation is important.  Bouncing around ideas is important.
f.  Students are given several days to keep thinking and trying. 
g. Class time is spent to suggest a variety of approaches and different ways of thinking.
h. Finally, only after many groups have shared their thinking, answers are revealed.

By this point, most students have begun to understand the mathematical ideas that hold the key to each problem.  For many students, lightbulbs will have flashed on.   The logic of the final answer will be readily apparent.  When all goes well, it is the students themselves who reveal the final correct answer.

See if you can solve these Thunder and Lightning problems.  By all means, discuss them with your children if you haven't already.

From More Thought Provokers, Doug Rohrer and Joe Spooner