School board and NipU partner for Mathletics

Near North District School Board
News Release

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The Near North District School Board with the assistance of Nipissing Parry Sound Catholic School Board and Nipissing University is planning a Junior Mathematics Contest for Near North area secondary students. There will be approximately 100 Grade 9 and Grade 10 students from both the Nipissing-Parry Sound Catholic District School Board and the Near North District School Board involved in this event. This contest will take place at Nipissing University on Friday, December 14th from 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.

Junior grade high school students will be divided into teams, ensuring there is a mixture of participating schools in each group. This is a great opportunity for area students with common interests to meet and challenge each other in a post secondary environment. The students will be encouraged to work together as a team.

Candace Barry, Near North District School Board’s Numeracy Coordinator, points out that, “This is an excellent focus on problem solving and collaborative team work enrichment activity for our secondary school students.” They will participate in mini lectures followed by problem sets. Dr. Andrew Dean and several other Nipissing University faculty members will provide assistance and resources for the contest. Teachers from Widdifield, West Ferris and St. Joseph-Scollard Hall will present each lesson. Peter Zecevic, retired teacher from Widdifield Secondary School will supervise the marking for the problem sets. Most of the markers will be Nipissing University students, however, some schools will send along a couple of senior students to assist in the marking, as it offers good experience for these students who may be considering a career in mathematics.

The area school boards appreciate the support from Nipissing University. Each participant will receive a Nipissing University T-shirt and prizes will be awarded to winning teams and to contestants who answer particularly difficult questions during the lessons.

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