Regional Reports
(Volume 42, Number 1--Autumn 1997)
Jackie Reynolds, Region 1 Director
The Fifteenth Annual Conference for Leaders gave regional leaders a chance to plan for the upcoming year. Being the new kid on the block, I found it extremely gratifying to have such strong and competent support in Region One.
Along with the Regional High School Math Contest and the Math Olympiad, there are plans to again hold the Elementary Math Fair. The date for this has been set for February 7.
A Region One meeting is planned for September 18 from 6:00 to 7:30. At this meeting materials will be offered to teachers in the region to help them answer parents' questions concerning the essential math learning requirements. This meeting will also provide non-members the opportunity to join WSMC and to enjoy the many advantages the organization provides. More information including the location will be sent to your school.
No report filed for this issue.
Sterling Bell, Region III Director
An emphasis on continuing the quality of mathematics inservice for the North Central Educational Service District area was a goal of local math educators who attended the 1997 WSMC Leaders Conference. WSMC, in conjunction with the North Central ESD, plan to continue the mathematics workshops that have been presented in the area. Under the leadership of Joyce Stevens, math specialist for the ESD, the ESD mathematics inservice plans to develop a secondary mathematics teachers workshop dealing with the "Wheel of Learning."
Another goal for the WSMC Region III members is to make local educators more aware of the WSMC math contests. To do this, meetings will be held in the Omak, Wenatchee, and Ephrata areas to explain the WSMC High School Contest and The Math Olympiad.
Sterling Bell, Megan Boland, Bill Brewer, Shairlyn Fish, Raschelle Freeman, and Joyce Stevens attended the leaders conference and will be involved in future planning for the region. If you are interested becoming involved in mathematics education in Region III, please contact Sterling Bell, WSMC regional director, or others who attended the leaders conference.
No report filed for this issue.
Ruth Chamberlain--Region V Director
Attending the WSMC Leaders Conference in Wenatchee from the region were Scott Smith, a middle school teacher and J. Rae Fowler, a Mukilteo elementary teacher, and Lisa Olson-Kelly, a high school teacher.
In addition to work on communicating information about the essential learnings and assessment to parents and community members, a regional meeting for coaches was planned.
On Wednesday, November 5, we are sponsoring a session, Connecting Washington Essential Learning Assessments and WSMC Math Contests (5-12), 4:30-7 p.m. at the Science Mathematics and Technology Education Building at Western Washington University in Bellingham. Designed to acquaint middle school and high school coaches with the philosophy of the contests, connection to the standards and how to prepare students. Included in the $10.00 fee will be handouts, pizza and pop. Reserve your spot by sending a $10.00 check, payable to WSMC:
Harold Hansberry
Math Department
Western Washington University
Mail Stop 9063
Bellingham, WA 98225
We are looking for ways to increase membership in the WSMC. Encourage your colleagues to join!
Mark Roddy, Region VI Director
Seattle University, (206)296-5765
mroddy@seattleu.edu
The Essential Learnings (don't say EALR's!) are out. The 4th grade assessment is out. The results will be in come Fall. There's a move afoot to bring algebra to the elementary school and the WSMC web page is almost live! Some would say that these are exciting times in mathematics; some would say that these are peculiar times. Let's just call them peculiarly exciting times.
In region VI we are certainly part of it all. We had a productive group gathered in Wenatchee for the fifteenth Annual Conference for Leaders. Our focus was how to convey both the meaning and mechanics of reform mathematics to parents, to the community, and to the rest of the world. Region VI representatives (including first-time attendees Elissa Farmer, Jane Goetz, Kristin Jongejan, Katie Schramm, and Barbara Schnabel) gathered on a Saturday evening and began to outline a Math Fair and Curriculum Expo. We are shooting for a date in the spring when we will invite parents, community and business leaders to come and learn about reform efforts. We will give participants a chance t!o experience the new curriculum, consider the rationale and vision for these changes, and then take a guided tour of some of the highlights and examples of the curriculum. We expect to include exhibits of technology, curricular integration and perhaps some examples of "math down under." (There are lots of interesting and applicable projects afoot in Australia, and the Internet makes this kind of sharing possible.) We will seek external funding so that we can provide a handout resource for teachers. We will also try to persuade employers (Boeing, Microsoft, etc.) to set up booths where thy can demonstrate ways in which mathematics is used on the job. We will collaborate with the Puget Sound Council of Teachers of Mathematics in this effort and please, if you have ideas to contribute or are willing to tell us about some interesting projects you have worked with let me know. We need good ideas and you've got them!! On a different note, we are planning an evening for high school mathematics contest coaches. The contest is very different now and coaches need a chance to explore these differences. We believe that while it's a big step in the right direction, there are refinements and adjustments to be made and coaches are encouraged to send their suggestions to me.
We will also be working on the WSMC World Wide Web site and, in particular, on the Region VI site. There is so much potential for communication and collaboration with this medium and we are looking for ways to develop these possibilities.
Finally, we are beginning to conjure up the "million penny project"...more about that in the fall.
No report filed for this issue.
Pat Reistroffer--Region VIII Director
Becky Sowders, Susan Crawford, Mavis Nickels, Joe Ann Riedesel and Pat Reistroffer met to plan activities for Region 8. Kelso High School will be the site for the High School Math Contest in March, and Pacific Junior High in Evergreen will be the site for the Math Olympiad in May. We plan to involve new people to help organize and score for both events. We will become visible at the SMART (Science Math Advancement Reachout for Teachers) Conferences, held October 30, February 19 and April 30. We have asked Barbara Chamberlain to be the keynote speaker at the February conference. We will have WSMC membership brochures available at every conference. Becky will have some merchandise for sale at the October conference and Pat will give a brief talk on WSMC and the reasons for becoming part of the organization.
We have plans to produce one of the 20 minute presentations at a local TV station to be aired several times to the community. The tape could be loaned out to any groups to help spread the word.
We're asking Raschelle Freeman to schedule an inservice on her Menu of Math Activities. We'll be calling the inservice "Partners in Math for Families." On November 15 at the Vancouver Mall, the activities will be out for the public to participate. In February the public can participate in the activities during the "Spotlight on Education" at the Kelso Mall.
We all plan to become ambassadors for WSMC during the 1997-98 year.
No report filed for this issue.
© 1998 WSMC and Richard T. Edgerton