Nueva Math Circle Feb 8th 2025

Nueva Math Circle is a popular community event that celebrates math at its most engaging, enriching and fun form. Our events draw students from across the Bay Area at all grade levels (PreK to Grade 12) who come to enjoy intriguing mathematical activities, games, and presentations led by distinguished mathematicians and leading educators.

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Get ready to join the next Nueva Math Circle on Sat, Feb 8th. Our featured presenters include Katherine Paur, Math Teacher at The Nueva School, David Klein, educator at SFSU's Center for Science and Mathematics Education and Director of SF Math Circle, Winnie Wong, Mathematics Professor, Founder at EdNova Academy and President of Evergreen Education Foundation, Wes Chao, Computer Science teacher at The Nueva School and our special guest Nancy Blachman, founder of the Julia Robinson Math Festival and co-founder of the Nueva Math Circle.

Additionally, we'll have Math Puzzles, Games and Activities in the Cafe and Hallway lead by Julia Robinson Math Festival and Open Chess for all grades and player levels.

Open Activities for all grade levels

1:00 - 3:30 pm - Puzzles and Floor Mats in the front of Cafe and First Floor Hallway hosted by Julia Robinson Mathematics Festival (JRMF)

1:00 - 3:30 pm - Math Games & Activities

1:00 - 3:30 pm - Open Chess

All students are welcome to drop-in to these activities throughout the event.

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PreK-K

1:00 - 2:00 pm - Math Circle Session with Katherine Paur

2:00 - 2:15 pm - Break / Snack

2:15 - 3:30 pm - Open Activities (see above)

Session Theme: Pentagons, Hexagons, Heptagons, Oh My!
We'll build unexpected polygons out of pattern blocks, and try our hands at dodecagons!

Grades 1-2

1:00 - 2:15 pm - Open Activities (see above)

2:15 - 2:30 pm - Break / Snack

2:30 - 3:30 pm - Math Circle Session with Katherine Paur

Session Theme: The Cartographer's Challenge
We'll try out some puzzles that fascinated map makers for centuries, and rebuild them using elegant mathematical ideas. If time permits, we'll create our own puzzles to stump friends and family!

Katherine Paur holds a BS in Mathematics from MIT and a PhD in Mathematics from Harvard University. With over a decade of experience as an educator, she has become a beloved high school math teacher at Nueva School, where she inspires students with her deep passion for mathematics and her engaging teaching style. Katherine has also served as the Math Director at Marin Math Circle, helping to foster a love of math in students outside the traditional classroom. Her expertise and dedication to math education have made her a valued member of the Nueva community, where she continues to motivate and challenge students to explore the beauty and excitement of mathematics.

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Grades 3-4

1:00 - 2:00 pm - Math Circle Session with David Klein

2:00 - 2:15 pm - Break / Snack

2:15 - 3:30 pm - Open Activities (see above)

Session Theme: Students will explore "ladder puzzles" where the goal is to rearrange letters subject to certain rules.

Grade 5-6

1:00 - 2:15 pm - Open Activities (see above)

2:15 - 2:30 pm - Break / Snack

2:30 - 3:30 pm - Math Circle Session with David Klein

Session Theme: Students will explore "ladder puzzles" where the goal is to rearrange letters subject to certain rules.

David Klein is the Director of San Francisco Math Circle, an extracurricular math enrichment program affiliated with the Center for Science and Math Education at San Francisco State University. Through after-school classes and camps, SF Math Circle provides a supportive, collaborative, and fun environment where students explore engaging, hands-on puzzles and games that involve both creativity and critical thinking.

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Grades 7-8

1:00 - 2:30 pm - Math Circle Session with Dr. Winnie Wong

2:30 - 3:30 pm - Games, Puzzles, Open Chess, Snacks

Session Theme: Explore creative problem-solving in this workshop! Dive into geometry, algebra, and combinatorics, uncover unconventional strategies, and master techniques like factorials, permutations, and combinations. Learn to think beyond standard methods and tackle complex challenges with innovative approaches.

Dr. Winnie Wong earned her B.A. in Mathematics from UC Berkeley and her M.A. and Ph.D. in Applied Mathematics from UCLA. After starting as a quantitative analyst, she founded two advanced math schools before becoming an associate professor at Notre Dame de Namur University. She has also taught at five community colleges and served as a summer lecturer at UC Berkeley and Stanford University’s Gifted Youth programs. A strong advocate for math competitions, Dr. Wong emphasizes their value in fostering problem-solving skills, sparking creativity, and challenging the mind. As president of an NGO, she works to improve educational opportunities for rural students in China. Additionally, she volunteers as a scholarship reader, interviewer, and AIME reviewer, showcasing her commitment to education and community service.

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Grades 9-12

1:00 - 2:30 pm - Computer Science session with Wes Chao

2:30 - 3:30 pm - Games, Puzzles, Open Chess, Snacks

Session Theme: In this workshop, students will delve into the stable matching problem: what it is, how to solve it, and what applications there are in the real world. They’ll also look at some profound insights about human behavior that we can prove using the algorithm as a framework and mathematical proofs as our tool.

Wes Chao (he/him) teaches computer science at the Nueva Upper School, but his first academic love was math. He majored in theoretical computer science, which sits at the intersection of computer science and math, and he is particularly fond of algorithmic solutions that give us insight into human behavior.

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Parent Session (Grades 7-12)

1:00 - 2:00 pm - Math Session / Workshop with Nancy Blachman

Parent Session (Grades 3-6)

2:30 - 3:30 pm - Math Session / Workshop with Nancy Blachman

If you plan to attend either of the Parent Sessions, please complete this .

Nancy Blachman enjoys being given mathematical puzzles and opportunities to explore and make discoveries. She is the founder of the popular Julia Robinson Mathematics Festival (JRMF.org) which provides K-12 students with opportunities to engage with mathematical problems, puzzles, and games. Named after renowned mathematician Julia Robinson, the festival features a variety of activities and problem sets, with the goal of inspiring more students, including girls and the underserved, to have fun playing with mathematics. JRMF events now occur throughout the United States and have reached more than 100,000 students worldwide. Nancy is also the President of Gathering 4 Gardner (G4G) (gathering4gardner.org) Foundation that stimulates curiosity and the playful exchange of ideas and critical thinking in recreational math, magic, science, literature, and puzzles to preserve and extend the legacy of writer and polymath Martin Gardner. Fun fact: Nancy is also a co-founder of the Nueva Math Circle!

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You will need a confirmed ticket to enter the event. Tickets are not available at the door.

Please to be among the first to know about our events.

Doors will open at 12:15pm for lunch and check-in before the sessions begin at 1:00pm. In order to be respectful to our presenters and other students, we ask that you plan to arrive early in order to have enough time to check-in and get to your first session before it starts.

There will be plenty of outdoor tables with seating for those who would like to have lunch on-campus before the event.

Pizza and snacks will be available for purchase at the event as always. Nueva Math Circle has gone cashless, and we accept credit / debit / Apple Pay / Google Pay.

Doors will open at 12:15pm for check-in and sessions will begin at 1:00pm.

This is a community-wide event that is open to the public.

Parking is available in the school garage. The Hillsdale Caltrain station is just across the street from the Nueva US campus if you plan to take public transportation. Please check the latest Caltrain weekend schedule for updates.

Please be advised that this is not a drop-off event. Parents are invited to join their child(ren) in the LS sessions (required for PK-2, at parents' discretion for Gr 3-4).

Parents generally do not need their own ticket if you are just planning to accompany your students to the event.

By registering for this event, activity, class, or program (“Event”), the Registrant indicates their understanding of and agreement to the following:

1. All amounts paid at the time of registration, excluding service fees, will be refunded if an Event is canceled or admission is denied for any reason. No other remedy shall be offered.

2. Participation in this Event is voluntary and Registrant expressly waives any and all claims against The Nueva School that may arise from such participation and agrees to hold The Nueva School harmless should injury of any sort or severity occur during or in connection with my attendance. This waiver of liability and agreement to hold harmless extends to children included by Registrant in this registration, and to loss or damage to any personal property Registrant or Registrant’s children bring with them to the Event.

3. The Nueva School does not assume responsibility for children attending this Event. Such responsibility remains with each child’s parent or guardian. Registrant shall, therefore, provide adequate adult supervision onsite at all times for the children they register for this Event and promptly address any behavior deemed hurtful or disruptive by Event organizers.

4. All event participants shall adhere to the policy of The Nueva School that prohibits publishing in any format or on any platform any photographic image or video image of a minor child without the express permission of the child’s parent or legal guardian.

5. Registrant is expected to show respect to co-participants and to Event sponsors & hosts, and to ask the dependent children they accompany to the Event to do the same. Registrant accepts responsibility for the cost of repairing or remedying any damage caused by them and/or those included in this registration.

Host or Publisher The Nueva School