ROSEMEAD, CA - ON SATURDAY JUNE 3^RD, WHILE THE GIFTED AND TALENTED STUDENTS OF THE WALNUT VALLEY UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT WERE COMPETING IN THE DISTRICT'S ANNUAL GATER GAMES. A TEAM OF FOUR EIGHT GRADE STUDENTS CONSISTING OF DUC DO, ANTHONY LU, ANGELA SUN, AND JASON WANG FROM SUZANNE MIDDLE SCHOOL REPRESENTING THE WVUSD TRAVELLED TO ROSEMEAD TO PARTICIPATE IN THE 2000 MATHEMATICS FIELD DAY EVENT. ROUGHTLY FOUR HUNDRED STUDENTS REPRESENTING OVER TWENTY SCHOOL DISTRICT TEAMS FROM VARIOUS PARTS OF LOS ANGELES COUNTY ASSEMBLED AT GARVEY INTERMEDIATE SCHOOL IN ROSEMEAD FOR THIS EVENT.

AS EVIDENT BY THE T-SHIRTS WORN BY THE MANY COMPETITORS, THEY WERE THERE AS A RESULT OF THEIR HIGH COMPLETION IN A MATH FIELD DAY WITHIN THEIR OWN SCHOOL DISTRICT EARLIER IN THE YEAR. FOR EXAMPLE, THE NEWHALL SCHOOL DISTRICT'S MATH FIELD DAY WAS HELD ON APRIL 1^ST, COORDINATED AND CONDUCTED BY MR. DAVID FRADKOFF, A 5^TH GRADE TEACHER.

THE MATHEMATICS FIELD DAY SERVES AS A CULMINATION TO A YEAR-LONG INSTRUCTIONAL PROGRAM IN MATHEMATICS WITH THE CALIFORNIA MATHEMATICS CONTENT STANDARDS AS THE GUIDE. 2000 MATH FIELD DAY IS SPONSORED, ORGANIZED, AND ADMINISTERED BY THE LOS ANGELES COUNTY OFFICE OF EDUCATION. THIS IS THE FIFTEENTH ANNAUAL EVENT FOR GRADES 4, 5, AND 6 AND THE SIXTH ANNUAL EVENT FOR GRADES 7 AND 8.

DURING THE COMPETITION, THE TEAM OF STUDENTS, REPRESENTING THEIR SCHOOL DISTIRCT, MOVE THROUGH TWENTY "STATIONS" TO SOLVE MATHEMATICS PROBLEMS ALIGNED TO THEIR GRADE LEVEL AND STANDARDS. THE STUDENTS ARE ALLOTTED VERY SHORT TIME AT A GIVEN "STATION" TO SOLVE A TEAM PROBLEM QUICKLY AND ACCURATELY. THE PROBLEMS ARE CATEGORIZED INTO FOUR DIFFERENT AREAS CALLED "NUMBER SENSE", "ALGEBRA AND FUNCTIONS", "MEASUREMENTS AND GEOMETRY", AND "STATISTICS, DATA ANALYSIS, AND PROBABILITY".

THE EIGHT GRADE TEAM REPRESENTING THE WALNUT VALLEY UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT DID WELL ENOUGH TO TAKE SECOND PLACE IN THE CATEGORY OF "NUMBER SENSE", "ALGEBRA", AND "STATISTICS". AS A RESULT OF THEIR THREE COMMENDABLE SECOND-PLACE STANDINGS, EACH MEMBER OF THE TEAM RECEIVED THREE PLAQUES.

ALL OF THE MATHEMATICS FIELD DAY PARTICIPANTS FROM THROUGHOUT THE LOS ANGELES COUNTY - THE COMPETITORS, COACHES / TEACHERS, ADMINISTRATORS, PARENTS, AND VOLUNTEERS - ENJOYED THE DAY VERY MUCH AND CONCLUDED THE DAY WITH MANY FOND MEMORIES.

ONCE AGAIN, CONGRATULATIONS TO DUC, ANTHONY, ANGELA, AND JASON FOR AN EXCELLENT PERFORMANCE. THANK YOU FOR RETURNING HOME WITH HONORS TO THE WVUSD, YOUR SCHOOL, AND YOUR FELLOW CLASS-MATES.
 

L-R are Mrs. J. Arlotti, Suzanne Middle School Teacher, Duc Do, Jason Wang, Anthony Lu, and Angela Sun displaying two of their three winning plaques from the Los Angeles County Office of Education Mathematics Field Day.

WVUSD 8^th Grade Math Field Day Team after receiving the L.A. County Office of Education Math Field Day 2^nd place plaque in the "Number Sense" Category.