Thirty thousand dollars ($EC30,000) in sponsorship has been pledged towards the Biennial Math Power Competition which is scheduled to be held this year.
The National Bank of Dominica (NBD) is the sponsor.
The competition is being held for the fifth time since its inception in 2009.
At the Math Power launching ceremony last week, NBD’s Executive Manager of Marketing, Suzanne Joseph Piper, said her company is honoured to be part of an event that seeks to develop young people.
“This program is an important one for us and for our young people because math is such a central subject; a good command of math is advantageous in this fast paste technological world,” she noted.
She said that apart from the math competitions, there should be an increase in other activities such as debates and national science and invention contests in Dominica.
“Activities such as this one gives our students the opportunity to develop these essential skills and the more of them that we have, the more opportunity we present to our youth to develop self,” Piper said.
She said mathematics has the power to make students think more analytically and strategically.
According to the coordinator of the Math Power Contest, Clement Vital, the competition consists of two segments and a maximum of two students and one stand-by student per school will participate.
“Segment one is [the] speed and accuracy round or the mental segment where students will be required to work out a series of math problems in their heads…and students will have fifteen seconds to answer each question correctly,” Vital explained.
He Vital stated that segment two will include problem-solving where students will be told to answer a series of math problems but this time, primary school students will be allowed to use a pen and paper and for secondary school participants; a calculator.
He said the Primary category of the competition includes students from grades four to six and the lower secondary category will include form one to three students.
“The upper secondary forms four to five students can participate,” he added.
Eliminations for both primary and high schools will be done on the 17th, 18th, 19th 20th and 27th of March, in different districts on the island.
“The top twenty-four schools from the eliminations at the primary level will go to the semifinals and the top five will be selected to go to the finals,” Vital said adding that at the high school level, the top five lower and upper high school students will proceed to the finals after eliminations.
The finals of the Math Power Competition is scheduled for April 7th, 2020.
every thing in this damn place is politically based. what the hell does lent have to do with Skerrit. Give me a break man. Hope is not a catholic talking so. stuppes
Following Ms. Piper’s suggestion that there should be an increase in other activities such as debates and national science and invention contests in Dominica, I am willing to sponsor in kind a “Creative Power Competition”.
The competition will include all aspects of innovation and I welcome other interested parties to come on board.
Lent is useless if you and some priests keep supporting and partaking in the evils of Skerrit.