San Juan Young Learners Reap International Awards in Mathematics

“What is this? Is it true? How did it happen? Wow! It’s amazing!” Maybe these are the questions and reactions of most people upon glancing at the title of this article. But then, this is as real as it gets and fresh from the sweet success of this year’s harvest.

Every year, in Mathematics, there are a lot of competitions where learners compete in different levels; school, city, district, division, regional, national and even international. This is how broad the competition of Mathematics is. Learners from Kindergarten up to Senior High School with superiority in terms of computing, are highly recommended to join this event.

Under the newest and most sophisticated international Mathematics competition, the Philippine International Mathematics Competition Olympiad (PhlMO) was designed to honor the best learners in the world of Math problem-solving through friendly competition as it also fosters cultural exchange among countries that participate therein from Kindergarten to grade 12.

The program of PhlMO aims to: 1. Gather young mathematically gifted learners all over the world to engage in a friendly international competition; 2. Challenge young mathematicians to strive for excellence in the learning area; and 3. Honor and award mathematical talent to serve as a model of global citizens.

Listed below are the names of the awardees, their respective schools, coaches, and school heads:

This prestigious event was held last April 4, 11 and 18, 2021 with each category having its own set of dates and times. Participants came from all over the world including USA, Australia, China, Canada, Vietnam, and other countries from the seven continents. Even in this pandemic period, the competition was set, started and finished victoriously in the specified timelines. This friendly competition was conducted virtually with an assigned proctor to every area of competition worldwide.

Learners from various public and private schools in this city participated and received awards in their respective levels or categories. San Juan City's young mathematicians demonstrated their problem-solving abilities in a variety of fields, including fractions, integers, geometry, algebra, and others.

This competition would not have prospered without the help of the learner’s coaches, parents, and school heads who supervised the activities as a preparation for the event, such as; practicing, memorizing, and simplifying problems for fast solution and better understanding.

DepEd activities became all the more successful because of the good leadership of Dr. Cecile G. Carandang, CESO VI (Schools Division Superintendent), with the support of Dr. Buenafe E. Sabado (ASDS), Dr. Helen Padilla (CID chief), and all the Education Program Supervisors (EPSs) of every department, especially Mrs. Helen S. Acedo (EPS in Mathematics and the current OIC-Principal of Juansci).

This achievement in Mathematics of our young learners is one of the reasons why San Juan City is not only known nationwide for having good leaders, (for the people’s welfare), but also because of the support from the local government headed by the City Mayor Hon. Francis Javier Zamora, Hon. Congressman Ronaldo Zamora, Hon. Vice Mayor Warren Villa and all the City Councilors in both district 1 and 2.

Congratulations to all the winners! Mabuhay, City of San Juan! Mabuhay, SDO San Juan! Mabuhay, San Juaneos!

Article written by:

Catalino A. Camayra, Teacher III - San Juan City Science High School