Our first tournament is at St. Paul's on the northshore on September 26th . Students need to sign up ASAP.
Our second tournament is at Lafayette High on October 3rd.
Our 5th - 8th tournament will be on October 16 from 3:30 - 6:30. Those involved in extracurriculars for the game will be excused at the appropriate times. This tournament is a fundraiser and an opportunity for students to earn a scholarship for their freshman year ranging between 25 - 100 dollars. We are currently contacting school principals to encourage participation. If you have any contacts at other schools please let me know. Our high school tournament generates about 5,000 dollars in revenue and we are hoping that over the next few years we can approach that number with both tournaments. I will also need parent volunteers to help with this tournament. Please contact me if you can help.
Seniors- Scholarship information will begin being circulated including scholarships that require a project. Also top placing students at state will receive scholarships to nationals. This is something that is achievable but requires work.
Any student interested in attending a summer program related to math/science out of state needs to talk with me about grants available through Mu Alpha Theta to pay all expenses for these programs. This includes programs at Standford, Princeton, University of Texas, Texas A & M, etc. These programs do not conflict with nationals and range from a week to a month.
If students haven't paid their $30 dues that needs to be done ASAP.
Dates for tournaments can be found at www.lamao.org
The nationals price has finally been released and I will be contacting the airlines this week to finalize prices. This means I should know the total cost including transportation by next Monday. Due to the difficulty in scheduling events in Washington money will be due much earlier this year as everything MUST be finalized by December including activities on free days. This means that a student should not sign up if they do not intend to follow through. Once deposits are given students will be responsible for the full balance even if they can not go. I have to plan and book VERY far in advance this year and there isn't any room for students to back out and it isn't fair for the other students going to have to pick up their cost. If your student is interested information will be going home next Monday. We are looking to bring between 20 - 25 students. It is necessary to bring at least 18 to maintain our national ranking as multiple events are going on at the same time and we must have entries in all of them.
Anyone who works at a plant or company that could potentially make a sizable donation please contact me. We have to have a parent working at a plant to get a donation. In previous years we have gotten between 3 and 5 thousand from the plants. Last year we didn't get anything. I can send out letters but it will help if a parent gets in contact with the office. I do have a donation letter ready for those entities. Please contact me for a letter as this is a huge help in fundraising.
We are currently selling formula notecards to students to raise money for regional tournaments.
I am in need of people who can sew. Texas Instruments does not make a cover that will work for the TI Nspire. MAO will be selling one that is a sewn drawstring bag for 15 dollars. This will make a minimum of 10 dollars per bag. It is also the same price the TI-84 covers cost. Students really need to cover their calculators to protect from dust and moisture on the faceplate. We are anticipating selling around 200 of these to the student body and potentially more in the community. Nancy Tir has been kind enough to make a prototype and pattern for us. The orders will not be all at once as it is a pre-order situation. However, I will need several people helping with this. Please let me know if you can help.
