

Problems were solved recently at Tallwood High School.
The inaugural Tallwood Invitational, a citywide mathematics competition, was organized by Tallwood High math teachers Bob Thien and Carey Henry.
“The purpose of the competition is to promote and develop a culture of excellence in mathematics,” Thien said.
“We want to really challenge the upper-level students to push further than they are already capable.”
Six VBCPS high schools were represented: First Colonial, Ocean Lakes, Landstown Governor’s STEM Academy, Salem, Princess Anne and Tallwood.
They arrived with their coaches at Tallwood bright and early Dec. 14 to compete in the collaborative, team-based, timed competition.
The opening ceremony in the school’s schola room included the national anthem and a greeting from Thien.
He welcomed the 68 student math enthusiasts and applauded their intellectual talent.

“If talent goes unchallenged, it will wither,” he told them
Teams energetically headed out as soon as Thien exclaimed, “Let the games begin!”
Some went to compete in one of the four challenges in upper and lower categories: complex problem solving and short answer.
Others waited their turn.
They practiced math problems in the library and interacted with members of the Tallwood National Math Honor Society in the hallway.
Pearl Wattananonchai manned the logic puzzles table.
The Tallwood sophomore thought the event was a great idea.
“Everyone with the same interest and passion can be together and meet more people,” she said.
Competitors also played the game of Ultimate Tic-Tac-Toe and learned about alternative multiplication methods from Tallwood “multiplication specialists.”
Tallwood junior Milla Estepa explained how to use the “Russian Peasant” method to solve a multiplication problem, while Fionna Manansala highlighted the “Ancient Egyptian” way to multiply.

Freshman Addison Azar’s display explained a Japanese multiplication process by using parallel and perpendicular lines and sophomore Maiah Fetalvero demonstrated the Lattice Method, first developed in Ancient India.
Landstown students Cara Nelson, Mia Garcia-Lim, Ryu White and Sandi Nguyen looked confident following their 15-minute short answer competition session.
“I’m pretty happy about how we did,” Ryu said
The sophomore said their strategy was to quickly open the envelope and divide the 15 problems between the foursome. They used math skills ranging from algebra II to pre-calculus.
After competing, teams could satisfy their curiosity with assistance from Isabella Chao.
The Tallwood senior, deemed a “subject matter expert,” explained answers to some of the problems.
Landstown coach and math teacher Christopher Eaton applauded his team’s hard work and preparation. The group worked on strategies after school and tried out some sample challenges provided on a website by organizers.
“These kids are so self-motivated,” he said.
The Invitational was made possible through an Adopt A+ grant from the Virginia Beach Education Foundation. Funds covered trophies, supplies and building fees.
T-shirts for participants and volunteers were provided thanks to two local engineering firms, a Tallwood High Math Honor Society fundraiser and school administration.

Participants gathered back together for the awards presentation.
First, guest speaker Dr. Jessica Kelly of Christopher Newport University demonstrated a new method of proving the Pythagorean Theorem, just developed in the past couple of years.
Then came the big announcements.
Princess Anne placed second, and Tallwood and Landstown tied for third.
Ocean Lakes was awarded the first place travelling trophy. The team had the greatest number of combined points from all four sessions.
Thien said he was overwhelmed with the event’s turnout.
He applauded everyone for excellence in math skills, thanked the volunteers and said the event will continue annually.
“We will build from here,” he said.
