MATH TEAM 2010
A Competitive Spirit
CAPTAIN
EDWIN WHITE (ARML, State team member)
LIEUTENANTS
JONATHAN JOHNSON (ARML; Mu Alpha Theta Vice-President, Advanced Math MVP, State team member)
AARON ROBERTS (ARML; Mu Alpha Theta Secretary, State team member)
VARSITY TEAM MEMBERS
Jordan Alfredson
Amelia Allen (Mu Alpha Theta President, Calculus MVP)
Samantha Allen
Zineb Bouzoubaa
Hilary Brown
Jacob Dollar
Julian Hinds
Vaidehi Joshi
Faustine Li (GHP)
Kevin Lin
Valeska Lobo
Dayrin Mendez
Shalomi Momin
Ken Shinmura
Edwin White
Ksenia Zakirova (ARML, Precal MVP, State team member)
JUNIOR VARSITY TEAM MEMBERS
Gedeion Addisu
Rob Bruton
Carmen Candal
Briana Cowles
Brandon Culver
Johnathan Davis
Cameron Easley (10th Grade MVP)
Vander Harris
Jasmine Johnson
Heeyoon Kim (ARML, 9th Grade MVP)
Paul Kim
Gabe Kustick
Jasen Lauritsen
Stein Lobo
Clare Morganelli
Janki Patel
Kaleb Ponder
Anika Reza
Anna Grace Slifko
Andrew Smith
Lamisa Syed
Lindsey Theodore
Andrew Wilzman
Paul Yates
During the 2009-2010 school year, the Math Team was involved in more contests and participated in more tournaments than ever before. We had a motivated and dedicated group of seniors on the team (with a core group of juniors) who brought their motivation to to compete to new heights. Bolstered by the second year of the “Math Technology and Problem Solving” class and a large group of Junior Varsity students, we participated in a record sixteen tournaments!
This group of dedicated students showed their motivation when they decided to attend the Luella Tournament on their own! Vaidehi Joshi drove herself, Edwin White, Kevin Lin, and Ksenia Zakirova to the tournament (with interesting speed-bump adventures on the way -- Vaidehi should really wear glasses when she drives). Amazingly enough, they won the tournament! They were very proud of themselves! But it was just a sign of things to come.
LEFT: The third place team at the Mercer University Math Tournament, November 14, 2009. Left to right: Kevin Lin, Ksenia Zakirova, Vaidehi Joshi, Ken Shinmura, Jordan Alfredson (holding our trophy), Aaron Roberts (holding his prize for getting second place in ciphering), Edwin White (holding his 4th place plaque), Jonathan Johnson (holding Edwin), and Valeska Lobo.
Aaron Roberts won his first prize at a math tournament at Mercer. He won a book for earning the second place ciphering score. Although disappointed that it was a book (even though it was a good one -- “The Golden Ratio” by Mario Livio) and not a trophy, he was all smiles nonetheless.
At the Lassiter tournament, the JV team showed its first signs of life by wining the Most Improved award. Led by Heeyoon Kim’s wonderful 8th place finish, this invigorated the JV team to want to succeed. The Lassiter tournament was also notable for other reasons. As it happened, the same day as the Lassiter tournament was the annual Christmas Parade through the city of Conyers. The parade organizers were using the RCHS parking lot to set up the parade floats, and would not let the bus return to RCHS. Additionally, Aaron’s car and Dr Garner’s car were both going to get towed because (as we found out later) no one was supposed to park in the RCHS lot! Hilarious adventures ensued: finally getting the bus back, parents finding students to get picked up, and losing Heeyoon. We all hope this adventure will never be repeated!
The 5th Rockdale Mathematics Competition was held on December 12 without a hitch. The tournament was organized by Jonathan Johnson who ran things smoothly from the auditorium; by Aaron Roberts who ran things smoothly from the scoring room; and by Edwin White who ran things super-smoothly from the grading room. Lots of alumni, parents, and friends came by to help run things. This was probably the most organized RMC yet, although the awards were delayed due to the huge number of individual tiebreakers.
In January, the Math Team went on another adventure to Savannah. It seems as if something strange happens on every trip. One year, our hotel reservations were mysteriously cancelled; another year, one of the students got food poisoning and had to go to the hospital; another year, the chartered bus was four hours late picking us up; another year, AASU’s computer program that tabulates results failed and they sent us home with no results or awards. This year was no exception: on the way to Savannah, the one of the tires on the chartered bus exploded, ripping part of the side of the bus off. Luckily, we were near Dublin, Georgia and the driver found a repair shop. So the Math Team spent nearly an hour wandering around downtown Dublin (or, “having adventures in small towns,” as Valeska puts it). Fortunately, this had little affect on the team, two of our teams earned second and third places!
The second place team at the Armstrong Atlantic State University Math Tournament, January 30, 2010. Left to right: Edwin White, Jonathan Johnson, Ksenia Zakirova, and Aaron Roberts.
The third place team at the Armstrong Atlantic State University Math Tournament, January 30, 2010. Left to right: Cameron Easley, Vaidehi Joshi, Faustine Li, Kevin Lin.
The teams adventurousness continued with the Georgia Southwestern tournament. For the first time, GSW held their tournament on a Friday. This meant that we would have a difficult time getting a school bus and a substitute teacher for the day. So Jonathan Johnson convinced his mother to drive himself, Edwin White, Aaron Roberts, and Kevin Lin to Americus early Friday morning. They prepped for the tournament on the way that morning, and ended up winning first place! This marks the fifth straight year the Rockdale Magnet Math Team has won first at the GSW Tournament: 2005, 2006, 2008, 2009, and 2010 (there was no GSW tournament in 2007). Not only did the team win first place on their own, they also all placed in the top ten individually!
This desire to compete continued with the students choosing to attend the Georgia Tech tournament. For the first time in a long time all the Rockdale Magnet students but three made it to the semi-finalist round of the Georgia Tech tournament. The others -- Samantha Allen, Julian Hinds, and Ken Shinmura -- were invited to participate in the Team Ciphering contest. The officials in charge of the tournament allowed sponsors to join their teams, so Dr Garner, Samantha, Julian, and Ken made up a ciphering team. There were 8 questions. We managed to answer 7 of them, and, as it happened, three of those were wrong! So we only got 4 correct, and we knew other teams must have done better. But during the award ceremony, we were chocked to learn that we got the first place prize for the Team Ciphering!
LEFT: Edwin White receiving his fifth place trophy from Dr Richard Millman of CEISMC at the Georgia Tech tournament, February 27, 2010.
RIGHT: Half of the team ciphering group at Georgia Tech, Ken Shinmura and Samantha Allen.
The fourth place Varsity team and the seventh place JV team after the Greater Atlanta Christian School Tournament, March 12, 2010. Left to right, front row: Paul Kim, Ksenia Zakirova, Aaron Roberts, Valeska Lobo, Dayrin Mendez, Shalomi Momin, Vaidehi Joshi. Left to right, second row: Jonathan Johnson, Anika Reza, Heeyoon Kim, Faustine Li, Samantha Allen, Amelia Allen. Left to right, back row: Gabe Kustick, Kaleb Ponder, Vander Harris, Andrew Wilzman, Ken Shinmura, Dr. Garner, Johnathan Davis, Stein Lobo, Edwin White, Gedeion Addisu, Kevin Lin.
The students once again showed their desire to compete by seeking out more opportunities. This time, the students wanted to attend the Furman math tournament and the Clemson Calculus Challenge.
For the Furman tournament, we stayed in a hotel in Greenville, South Carolina, the night before. For dinner that evening, we opted for Chinese food. We wondered if this was a good place to eat when we discovered that we were literally the only customers in the restaurant! As it turns out, it probably wasn’t: Edwin got sick during the written test the next morning! (He blames the food for us not winning first place!)
For the Clemson Calculus Challenge, we recruited some individuals from calculus class that were not on Math Team. Having never attended this tournament before, we did not know what to expect, so we went with little expectations, new recruits, and open eyes. The test was challenging. The team ciphering was intimidating: 10 minutes per question, with point-values decreasing as each minute ticks by. The team of Jonathan, Edwin, Aaron, and new recruit Dean Lovering got three of the six team questions correct within the first minute, earning maximum points. As it happened, this was enough for us to win the first place team round award, and, combined with our individual scores, to win the first place school award!
The second place team at the Furman University Math Tournament, March 20, 2010. Left to right: Ksenia Zakirova, Jonathan Johnson, Aaron Roberts, Edwin White.
The first place team at the Clemson Calculus Challenge, April 8, 2010. Left to right: Dr. Garner, Edwin White, Shalomi Momin, Chris Miller, Ishaq Winters, Vaidehi Joshi, Samantha Allen, Amelia Allen, Aaron Roberts, Kevin Lin, Jonathan Johnson, M.J. Taylor, Dean Lovering.
We finished the year strong. The JV Math Team earned first place at the JV State Math Tournament in the 4A division, marking the fifth 4A JV State title for Rockdale Magnet. The Varsity Math Team also earned first place in 4A in the GCTM State Math Tournament, marking the seventh 4A State title for Rockdale Magnet. Additionally, all members of the State team -- Jonathan Johnson, Aaron Roberts, Edwin White, and Ksenia Zakirova -- along with Heeyoon Kim, were selected for the Georgia ARML team this year.
Dedication, hard work, and a desire to challenge yourself pays off!
Below you will find our record of placements at the tournaments the Math Team attended that school year. Team awards are listed first, with individual awards listed after the team member’s name.
September 26, 2009, North Fulton Varsity Invitational, Alpharetta.
10th place JV team: Gedeion Addisu, Heeyoon Kim, Gabe Kustick, Anika Reza, Lamisa Syed, Andrew Wilzman.
6th place team: Julian Hinds, Jonathan Johnson, Faustine Li, Kevin Lin, Valeksa Lobo, Aaron Roberts, Ken Shinmura, Edwin White.
October 3, 2009, Luella High School Invitational, Locust Grove.
1st place Varsity team: Vaidehi Joshi, Kevin Lin, Edwin White (1st place), Ksenia Zakirova (9th place).
October 17, 2009, University of Georgia Mathematics Tournament, Athens.
13th place team: Jordan Alfredson, Hilary Brown, Jacob Dollar, Jonathan Johnson, Heeyoon Kim, Faustine Li, Valeska Lobo, Shalomi Momin, Aaron Roberts, Ken Shinmura, Edwin White.
October 31, 2009, Cobb County Invitational, Kennesaw.
8th place JV team: Brandon Culver, Johnathan Davis, Jasmine Johnson, Heeyoon Kim, Stein Lobo, Anika Reza, Lindsey Theodore, Andrew Wilzman.
13th place Varsity team: Amelia Allen, Samantha Allen, Zineb Bouzoubaa, Hilary Brown, Jonathan Johnson, Vaidehi Joshi, Kevin Lin, Vaidehi Joshi.
November 14, 2009, Mercer University Mathematics Tournament, Macon.
3rd place team: Jordan Alfredson, Jonathan Johnson (7th place), Vaidehi Joshi, Kevin Lin, Valeska Lobo, Aaron Roberts (13th place and 2nd place Ciphering), Ken Shinmura, Edwin White (4th place), Ksenia Zakirova
December 5, 2009, Lassiter High School Invitational Math Tournament, Marietta.
8th place JV team, Most Improved Award: Gedeion Addisu, Johnathan Davis, Cameron Easley, Vander Harris, Heeyoon Kim (8th place), Stein Lobo, Clare Morganelli, Lamisa Syed, Andrew Wilzman.
6th place Varsity team: Ameila Allen, Samantha Allen, Zineb Bouzoubaa, Jonathan Johnson, Vaidehi Joshi, Aaron Roberts, Ken Shinmura, Ksenia Zakirova.
January 30, 2010, Armstrong Atlantic State University Mathematics Tournament, Savannah.
2nd place team: Jonathan Johnson (6th place), Aaron Roberts, Edwin White, Ksenia Zakirova. 3rd place team: Cameron Easley, Vaidehi Joshi, Faustine Li, Kevin Lin. 10th place team: Valeska Lobo, Anika Reza, Dayrin Mendez, Ken Shinmura
February 5, 2010, Georgia Southwestern State University Mathematics Tournament, Americus.
1st place team: Jonathan Johnson (2nd place), Kevin Lin (9th place), Aaron Roberts (3rd place), Edwin White (1st place).
February 9, 2010, AMC
School winner, AMC10A: Heeyoon Kim
School winner, AMC12A: Edwin White
February 24, 2010, AMC
School winner, AMC10B: Cameron Easley
School winner, AMC12B: Edwin White
February 27, 2010, Georgia Tech High School Math Competition, Atlanta.
6th place Varsity team, 1st place Team Ciphering: Amelia Allen, Samantha Allen, Julian Hinds, Jonathan Johnson, Ken Shinmura, Edwin White (5th place).
March 13, 2010, Greater Atlanta Christian School’s Dwight Love Math Tournament, Norcross.
7th place JV team: Gedeion Addisu, Johnathan Davis, Vander Harris, Heeyoon Kim, Paul Kim, Gabe Kustick, Stein Lobo, Kaleb Ponder, Anika Reza, Andrew Wilzman.
4th place Varsity team: Amelia Allen, Samantha Allen, Julian Hinds, Jonathan Johnson, Vaidehi Joshi, Faustine Li, Kevin Lin, Valeska Lobo, Dayrin Mendez, Shalomi Momin, Aaron Roberts, Ken Shinmura, Edwin White (7th place), Ksenia Zakirova.
March 20, 2010, Furman University Wylie Mathematics Tournament, Greenville, South Carolina.
2nd place team: Jonathan Johnson, Aaron Roberts, Edwin White, Ksenia Zakirova.
March 27, 2010, Junior Varsity State Math Tournament, Marietta.
1st place AAAA team,11th overall: Gedeion Addisu, Johnathan Davis, Vander Harris, Jasmine Johnson, Heeyoon Kim (AAAA Champion), Stein Lobo, Anika Reza, Lamisa Syed.
April 9, 2010, Clemson Calculus Challenge, Clemson University, South Carolina.
1st place team and 1st place school: Amelia Allen, Samantha Allen, Jonathan Johnson, Vaidehi Joshi, Kevin Lin, Shalomi Momin, Aaron Roberts, Edwin White (3rd place), with special guests Dean Lovering, Chris Miller, M.J. Taylor, and Ishaq Winters.
April 17, 2010, Cherokee County Saint Valentine’s Day Mathacre, Canton. (Rescheduled from February)
3rd place Varsity team: Amelia Allen, Samantha Allen, Vaidehi Joshi (1st place), Valeska Lobo.
April 17, 2010, Walton High School MathFest at Kennesaw State University
4th place individual: Edwin White.
April 24, 2010, GCTM State Mathematics Tournament, Macon.
7th place team overall and AAAA Champions: Jonathan Johnson, Aaron Roberts, Edwin White (11th place), Ksenia Zakirova.
