Centennial Elementary School

The Math Olympiads Program

* To stimulate enthusiasm and a love for Mathematics

* To introduce important Mathematical concepts

* To teach major strategies for problem solving

* To develop Mathematical flexibility in solving problems

* To strengthen Mathematical intuition

* To foster Mathematical creativity and ingenuity

* To provide for the satisfaction, joy, and thrill of meeting challenges

Centennial's Math Olympiad Club meets once a week for an hour. Club members practice for the contests, using nonroutine problems from Mathematical Olympiads Contest Problems for Elementary and Middle Schools.

The highlights for students are the five monthly contests, given from November to March. These contests provide an incentive for students to intensify their study of math.

Created in 1977 by Dr. George Lenchner, an internationally known math educator, the Math Olympiads went public in 1979. Last year 150,000 students from 5,000 teams worldwide participated in the Olympiads. All 50 states and 25 other countries were represented.