US Mathematics Students of the Trimester – Winter 2020

I am excited to announce the Upper School Mathematics Students of the Trimester – Winter 2020!

Each math faculty member was free to choose whichever student of theirs they thought best exemplified what they are looking for in a model mathematics student. The official description of the award is as follows:

“Awarded to students who exemplify the math department’s core values of competence, confidence, and perseverance while helping their peers realize the relevance and importance of an exceptional mathematical education both for its beauty and for its practical application.”

The following students have been recognized as the Upper School Mathematics Students of the Trimester for Winter 2020.

Please join me in congratulating these outstanding mathematics students!

Brie Banas – Brie has been a consistently strong math student throughout the year. She is intelligent, hard working and diligent yet very unassuming. She is always willing to lend her thoughtful insights into the material with her fellow classmates which consistently helps propel our class forward.
Grace Bean – Grace has had an amazing second trimester. Always a class leader in terms of participation, Grace has stretched herself on the most difficult “”ticket to the weekend “” problems. On more than one occasion, she has been the first student to complete these challenge problems. She is quick to infer previously learned concepts into new problems and she shares her thoughts enthusiastically with the classmates. Grace is always ready to learn and grow.
Anfisa Bogdanenko – In our final section on recursion, Anfisa work to create a recursive backtracking algorithm to solve Slitherlink puzzles. She took this challenge precisely because it was not readily apparent how it would work. Throughout, her analysis of the problem was incredibly insightful and ultimately led to a working solution! Very daring and very bold!
Elsa Frankel – Elsa has led the class by entering into many discussions about challenging problems. Her classmates appreciate looking at her work because it is easy to read and clear when following her steps. Finally, when I had to miss a class, I reached out to Elsa to make sure class got started properly. She went beyond expectations by providing a summary of the class discussion- what went well and we should still go over more. She’s thorough and precise in all that she does! She is always willing to help. 
Liz Gluz – Liz has worked hard all year in and out of the classroom. She has gone above trying to just understand the basics. She excelled at seeing all the connections in each lesson and has shown a high level of mastery.
Lauren Goldinger – Academically, Lauren was consistently at or near the top of her class this winter. This success was due to consistent hard work and perseverance when faced with new mathematical challenges. Additionally, Lauren regularly made a positive impact in our classroom though her ability to collaborate productively with anyone during group work sessions. For the reasons above and more I am proud to make Lauren my math student of the trimester.
Adam Johnsrud – Adam is a proactive learner. He goes out of his way to be prepared and lean into challenging material. He is actively kind, naturally makes space for others, and he goes out of his way to ask people how they are doing, and really care about their response. Adam is a model math student and a fantastic all-around human.
Sarah Kimmel – Sarah is a stellar computer scientist! She brings a natural curiosity and joy for learning to class. She’s a positive contributor to the class discourse and challenges herself during homework and project assignments.
Kam LaFountain – Kam has worked so diligently this year in Geometry Essentials. He has been prepared every day, and he seeks me out for help as soon as any information is unclear. He’s always totally on task during class time, and he obviously really wants to learn all the material.
Matt Pimental – Matt has been a great student throughout the year. He is a leader during discussions, even taking over class one day when my throat limited my speaking. He does great work on projects and is always putting forth his best effort.
Hannah Roche – Hannah puts a lot of thought and care into her work both in and out of class. She is always prepared and sets a great example for her classmates.
Tyler Varin – Tyler did a particularly nice job during the second trimester, stepping up as a leader in this class. Tyler was always ready to participate in class discussions and was willing to take risks with challenging material. His trimester minimization project was outstanding.

Past students of the trimester can be found right here: Fall 2013, Winter 2014, Spring 2014, Fall 2014, Winter 2015, Spring 2015, Fall 2015, Winter 2016, Spring 2016, Fall 2016, Winter 2017, Spring 2017, Fall 2017, Winter 2018, Spring 2018, Fall 2018, Winter 2019, Spring 2019, Fall 2019

US Mathematics Students of the Trimester – Fall 2019

I am excited to announce the Upper School Mathematics Students of the Trimester – Fall 2019!

Each math faculty member was free to choose whichever student of theirs they thought best exemplified what they are looking for in a model mathematics student. The official description of the award is as follows:

“Awarded to students who exemplify the math department’s core values of competence, confidence, and perseverance while helping their peers realize the relevance and importance of an exceptional mathematical education both for its beauty and for its practical application.”

The following students have been recognized as the Upper School Mathematics Students of the Trimester for Fall 2019.

Please join me in congratulating these outstanding mathematics students!

Anfisa Bogdanenko – Anfisa is a truly curious student who challenges herself to learn as much as she can. She is able to learn concepts quickly and apply them to new more complex problems. In class, she lends her insights into the material with the rest of her peers to help us constantly move forward.
Julia Borden – Julia is an outstanding math student. Always focused in class, she is determined to do her best in every aspect of learning math. Her diligence as a student has been rewarded with strong test and quiz results throughout the trimester. Julia saved her best work for her trimester one exam. Her near perfect work earned her the highest grade in the class and demonstrated great precision and knowledge. Our class can always count on Julia to ask the most insightful questions. Congratulations, Julia, on an outstanding trimester in Algebra II.
Aidan Bourbonnais – Beyond achieving high marks on assessments, Aidan always came to class with a positive attitude and ready to work. Additionally, Aidan served as a great resource in the classroom by explain concepts to classmates. This reinforced her own understanding while helping boost the understanding of those around her. For these reasons, I am proud to nominate Aidan as my math student of the trimester.
Noah Brooks – Noah was consistently on point in class during the first trimester. He asks great questions to clarify his understanding which helps everyone else in the class. He has a very good understanding of the first trimester material to build on for the rest of the year.
Connor Capshaw – Connor got off to a bit of a slow start with his first quiz in the fall term in Algebra 2 Honors, but then he reacted in exactly the way one would hope. He immediately set up times to meet with me; he carefully reviewed his initial mistakes; and he was careful to prepare diligently for all subsequent tests and quizzes. By the end of the term he was starting to really demonstrate his ability with the subject. Beyond that, Connor is also just a wonderful kid to have in a classroom – polite, friendly, engaged – a true pleasure.
Louisa Coughlin – Louisa has shown a high level of thought and care in her approach to mathematics. She is able to communicate skills and theories with her classmates that are clear and insightful. She has approach class with an excellent mindset that has enabled her to not be afraid to struggle so that she can preform at her best.
Max Graff – Max has shown great intuition for Geometry, thinking through new and challenging concepts. He is always willing to speak up in class to ask questions, share an idea, or help others. He provided great review demonstrations on proofs which really helped the entire group understand the material better.
Sam Haddad – Sam has contributed positively to class discussions. He keeps learning going through answering and asking questions. He knows how to have fun during class and also be serious about his learning. He engages in the activities and applies his learning to more challenging problems.
Felix King – Felix was outstandingly engaged in this class. He understood every lab challenge in terms of the programming tools available. In addition, he explored and used concepts that made his coding both effective and creative.
Will Sawyer – Will exhibited phenomenal work ethic throughout the first trimester. He was not shy about asking questions, and communicated his thoughts/approaches very well when addressing the class and during group work. Will took the initiative to meet for extra help on numerous occasions and always came prepared. The mentality and attitude Will brought to class each day will help him in many other endeavors in and out of the classroom.
Alice Shevchenko – Alice is a tenacious problem solver. She never gives up and makes use of all possible support structures. She works smoothly with others in small groups and is keenly aware of what she knows and what she doesn’t. She has fun with math and that enjoyment is spread to others!
Jack Zhu – Jack’s curiosity drives him to derive all he can can from all of our class activities in AP CSP. He pushes his programming skills consistently rather than relying on what is easy or familiar. He also he maintains cheerful and positive engagement throughout his time with the group.

Past students of the trimester can be found right here: Fall 2013, Winter 2014, Spring 2014, Fall 2014, Winter 2015, Spring 2015, Fall 2015, Winter 2016, Spring 2016, Fall 2016, Winter 2017, Spring 2017, Fall 2017, Winter 2018, Spring 2018, Fall 2018, Winter 2019, Spring 2019