Valley of Virginia Council of Teachers of Mathematics

The Valley of Virginia Council of Teachers of Mathematics’ Spring Conference will be held Wednesday, March 16, at Fort Defiance High School.  The program will feature a presentation about the new Mathematics Standards of Learning (due to be released in March) by Michael Bolling, Director of Mathematics from the Virginia Department of Education.  As always, a delicious catered meal will be offered for only $5.00.   Registration will begin at 4:30, followed by dinner, business meeting, and the featured presentation, SOL Revision and the State of Mathematics in Virginia.   To register, click here.  Please register no later than March 9.

More details about the Spring meeting are in the Spring 2016 Reflection newsletter.  Click here to see it.

Click here to download the informational brochure

At the Fall 2015 V2CTM Conference held October 13 at Wilbur S. Pence Middle School, nearly 90 educators, administrators, and college students learned from Dr. Kenn Barron that there is a formula for optimally motivating students in the math classroom:  M = E + V – C.  Kenn defined and gave examples of M (Motivation), E (Expectancy), V (Value), and C (Cost).

As always, White Hill Catering provided a delicious catered meal and many door prizes were won by attendees.

V2CTM again sponsored the Regional 24 Challenge Tournament on April 23 at Wilson Middle School.  The competition brought together 70+ students from 14 schools, including schools in Staunton, Waynesboro, Augusta County, Greene County, and Rockingham County.

Player representation in the semi-final round of 16 included students from Staunton City, Rockingham, and Augusta County. The final four players were all from Wilson Elementary School in Augusta County. The winners were:

Third Runner Up: Ethan Briseno, Wilson Elementary School

Second Runner Up: Clark Dana, Wilson Elementary School

1st Runner Up: Aiden Podgorski, Wilson Elementary School

Grand Champ: Jimmy Chen, Wilson Elementary School

Wilson Elementary School’s coaches are Linda Bowers and Donald Burton.

Special thanks to John Stevens, Stuarts Draft High School, for being the emcee for the event and to Laurie Biser who chaired the event for V2CTM.

“The fastest two hours I have spent in ages” remarked one person as he left the Number Talks session by Dr. Sherry Parish at the 2015 Spring V²CTM Conference held March 17 at Skyline Middle School in Harrisonburg. “Great Google Sketchup Session” commented another attendee who had attended Dr. Carl Lee’s session. These two were among the 131 teachers and administrators who enjoyed a delicious buffet dinner supplied by Whitehill Catering, efficient business meeting run by Jenny Gibson, and two excellent and well-attended workshops.

The 2015 Spring V²CTM Conference, to be held March 17 at Skyline Middle School in Harrisonburg, features two nationally known speakers.  Dr. Sherry Parrish, author of the widely popular Number Talks, will conduct an extended workshop for K-8 attendees.  Dr. Carl Lee, a distinguished professor from the Department of Mathematics at the University of Kentucky, will conduct a workshop, Modeling with Google SketchUp in the School Classroom.  As usual, Whitehill Catering will bring us a delicious meal.  More information about the workshops and other conference details will be forthcoming in the spring Newsletter.  Mark your calendars!  Registration is already open–click here to register online.

Click here to register for the Fall 2014 Conference to be held on Tuesday, October 7, at Skyline Middle School in Harrisonburg.   As shown below, there are some excellent sessions planned for the conference.  Registration costs, including the catered dinner, are only $5, payable at the door.  You must register by October 1.  You can download the Fall newsletter which has lots more details about this conference and other V2CTM activities by clicking here.

4:30 – 5:00      Registration

5:00 – 5:45      Dinner catered by White Hill Catering

5:45 – 6:00      Business Meeting/Door Prizes:  Jenny Gibson, V²CTM President

6:00 – 7:00      Keynote Address:  If You Want Smart Thinkers in Mathematics, You Have to Engage in Smart Teaching, Dr. John Almarode, James Madison University.

7:15 – 8:15      Breakout Sessions

Elementary K-5 Session: Differentiation in the Elementary Mathematics Classroom, Dr. Kateri Thunder, James Madison University

Middle & High School Session:   Flipping Out Over Math, Kara Velez, Wilbur S. Pence Middle School and Amanda Rickard, East Rockingham High School