Math Nights and Afternoons here, there and everywhere!

math games are exciting

One of my dreams when I started the Somerville Mathematics Fund eleven years ago was to see children excited about math and doing math activities together and with their parents.  The Somerville Math Fund is an affiliate of Dollars for Scholars and so clearly we are a scholarship organization.  However, long before high school, children need to be getting ready for those scholarships and so it is important for kids to learn to think mathematically.  

In each of the descriptions below, I have linked the newspaper coverage to the school's name -- go read all about the fun that was had and what students were learning.  As other articles are published, I will update this with links.

For all of these events, the Bickoff family has generously donated pizza.  This had made it possible for families to come to school for a wonderful event with their children even though they tend to conflict with dinner time.

At the end of evening of the K-6th math nights, families go home with activities and materials they use together at home.  The math fund grants pay for these materials along with the "math prizes" at some and the games students play at the events.

I have been visiting math fund funded events all over the city.  The first one was at West Somerville Neighborhood School in February.  After pizza was eaten, the tables were cleared and set up.  This K-6th event had different games and activities by grade but students could try other tables after completing their own activities.  Usually math nights start in the spring but our unusually warm winter allowed this fun night with no snow or ice challenges.

strategies take thought ...  

do you think you control those dice?

The next math night was the K-2nd Argenziano School math night.  This is Agenziano's first year winning a Somerville Mathematics Fund grant for math nights and the teachers ran it as if they had been doing this for years.  They had a wonderfully exciting math night.

rolling the dice for a game on the hundreds board

While a pizza dinner was served on one side of the room, the other side had active math activities led by sixth graders and math games led by teachers.  Once people had eaten, the rest of the cafeteria was setup for games and activities by grade level.  There were many excited intensely involved students along with their parents.  

Later in that same week, middle school students from Healey, Brown, East Somerville Community School at Cummings and West Somerville Neighborhood School celebrated Pi Night at the Healey School.  I coplanned this π event with Wil Jacques, Jack O'Keefe, Theresa MacVicar, Annette Fiori Bassett and Scott Walker. Not only did we have pizza but Table Talk Pies donated large pies for prizes and small pies for everyone. We had community volunteers and wonderful high school students help with each activity.

collecting data: which  is the better target? a 

circle in a square or a square in a circle ... later in math 

class calculations are made to compare experimental 

with theoretical probability

Some activities collected data, some were estimation, other made things.  Always popular is to make are the π Buttons.  Students also made line drawings that produced various curves, circles, nephroids and cardioids.  Students always love the estimating activities.  These included estimating the sizes of circular things around the room, the number of round objects in a jar, estimating by feel and even estimating how far one and a half revolutions of a bike tire will end up.  The data collecting includes comparing targets and collecting tooth pick drops to calculate π (Buffon's Needle problem).  Some students even shared their rap about π.

signing his name on the line predicting where the 

bike wheel will end up

feeling a circular object and estimating the 

circumference in cm

drawing a circle by drawing lines 

(actually tangents to the "circle" which appears)

April has brought four more events.  The first at Winter Hill, then Argenziano and finally two at East Somerville Community School at Edgerly on consecutive days.

The 3rd - 5th Math Night at Winter Hill started with pizza and then the cafeteria tables were cleared for the activities.  Tables were devoted to particular grade levels where students and parents played games together that are related to the classroom curriculum and some others that they can play at home.  There were also games for all levels at one end of the room, a graph collecting data from everyone at the other end, and estimation jars along the side.

Playing a fraction calculation game

The 3rd - 5th Argenziano math night followed the same format as their earlier math night, except this time the grade level for the activities and challenge level of the games changed.

Making sets of proportional fraction cards to use at home

I watched a wonderful moment where a mother and daughter were playing Mankalla and teaching a teacher a variation on the game that they play at home (they block off part of the holes and this makes the game a different strategy challenge). 

blocking part of the Mankalla holes with a cellphone

to make the game more challenging

measuring up

a game using money

Yesterday,  I went to the East Somerville Community School (ESCS) at Edgerly's math event for 2nd-4th.  This year they expanded it to include 2nd grade.  The format is a bit different at ESCS in that they start with the math activity right after school and end with the pizza.  Again, they had games and activities in various rooms, with individual halls devoted to each grade.

learning a new strategy game

Every year, the ESCS math night includes a time for parents to learn something about how math is taught and what they can do to help their children at home,

playing Bump

two cars racing down the ramp ...

One of the activities had 2 students release 2 cars down a ramp at the same time.  Then they had to estimate the distance the car traveled before they could measure it.








The math night at ESCS yesterday was followed by 3rd grade Test Success Day today.  Since the students have never taken MCAS exams prior to 3rd grade, they came to school today to take a practice test (last year's math exam) with either a parent or with a 7th or 8th grader.

 They started with breakfast, ran around in the gym and then tried the sample test while talking through the problems as they did them.  After the test, they learned the new games their parents learned while they were in the gym and then ended with a pizza lunch, and left with gift bags of math supplies.

The session for the parents included information on testing and gave them some math activities they can do at home to help their students. 

This is not the end of the math nights for this year.  Stay tuned to learn about Winter Hill's K-2nd math night and Healey's K-2nd in May and June.  If you have never had the fun of volunteering at a math night, contact me at mathfund@gmail.com to get details about the Healey School Math Night.


©2012, Erica Dakin Voolich
The link for this page is: http://somervillemathematics.blogspot.com/2012/04/math-nights-and-afternoons-here-there.html

Mathematics Teacher Grant Winners Announced

The Somerville Mathematics Fund is pleased to announce the winners of their 2012 grants to teachers who are working on providing the students in Somerville with exciting, challenging  and creative mathematics in their classrooms.  This  year through the generosity of John Bullock they were able to fund a wonderful set of grants.

If you know any of these wonderful teachers, be sure to congratulate them on a job well-done.


• Annette Fiore Bassett at Winter Hill Community School for “K-2 & 3-5 Family Mathematics Nights”
• Laura Bonnell at East Somerville Community School at  Edgerly for “3^rd grade Success Day”

• Sally Brith at Next Wave for “Pre-Algebra Curriculum Materials”

• Frances Carino at Winter Hill Community School (4^th) for “Math Games”

• Margaret Clapham & Kate Briggs at Healey School (3^rd, 4^th) for “Think Tank and Figure It Materials”

• Adriane Cruz-Cioppa at Argenziano School (2^nd SEIP) for “Resource Activity Center”

• Kristy Desilets at Unidos, East Somerville Community School at Cummings for “Think Tank and Math Games”

• Donna Driscoll at Argenziano School (SEIP, Unidos)  for “K-2, 3-5 Bilingual Family Mathematics Nights”

• Benjamin Hehn at Kennedy School (5^th) for “Calculators and Mathematical Posters”

• Cathy Hughes at Kennedy School (1^st) for “Math Materials to send home and to differentiate in class”

• Eileen MacDonnell at Healey School (3^rd) for “Math Game and Literature”

• Charlene O’Neill at Winter Hill Community School (4^th) for “Math Games”

• Roxanne Scrima at Kennedy (K) for “Materials for parent/child activities”

• Zachary Shufran at Winter Hill Community School (3^rd-8^th,  ELL) “Mathematics Magazines”

• Sharon Sotiros at Kennedy (K) for “Materials for parent/child activities”

• Kathryn Sousa at Argenziano School (1^st, SEIP) for “Mathematics Activities for Small Groups”

• Celia Taylor at Healey School for “K-2 Family Mathematics Night”
• Alison Walton at Healey School for “Mathematics Materials for classroom & Take-home”
• Linda Wiegenfeld at East Somerville Community School at Edgerly for “2 – 4 Family Mathematics Night"



            The Somerville Mathematics Fund, an affiliate of the national scholarship organization Dollars for Scholars, was chartered in 2000 to celebrate and encourage achievement in mathematics in the city of Somerville, Massachusetts.  Over eleven years, the math fund has awarded $55,835 in teacher grants in the city of Somerville.


           The Somerville Mathematics Fund is an all-volunteer organization and is able to fund these teacher grants and scholarships based solely on the generosity of their supporters.  You can donate online by going to Community Room thanks to Eastern Bank.

            In early April, the fund will be seeking applications from students who reside in Somerville for college mathematics scholarships.  Copies of the scholarship application form is available at  www.somervillemathematicsfund.org   For more information, to volunteer or to make a tax-deductible contribution, please contact Erica Voolich (666-0666 or mathfund@gmail.com).

SMF goes to the School Committee Meeting

Last Monday, The Somerville Mathematics Fund was honored to be recognized by the Somerville School Committee for their work in Somerville and their winning the Outstanding Dollars for Scholars Chapter in New England for 2011.  Some of the members of the SMF board were able to attend and Paul Bockelman presented us with a framed congratulatory certificate from the whole School Committee.

The Somerville School School Committee devoted the first part of their meeting to recognizing retiring teachers, the Duhamel School Initiative, teachers winning Duhamel grants, and The Somerville Mathematics Fund.   The Duhamel School Initiative received a surprise award: Outstanding School Partner Award from the  Massachusetts Association of School Committees.  The Duhamel Initiative has been doing wonderful work in Somerville for the past 15 years and deserves this recognition.  Congratulations to them!

As the President of the Mathematics Fund, I was able to offer some words to the School Committee.

I took the time to thank the larger community.  The success of The Somerville Mathematics Fund is the result of many people.  Many people donate time and money.  The teachers who apply for a grant give their time to implement their wonderful ideas that we are able to fund.  The teachers also write the letters of recommendation for the scholarship applicants and recruit the high school volunteers for math nights and recruit the Scrapheap teams.  The teachers also organize and run the K-5 math nights and co-plan the middle school math celebrations of math, such as Pi Night.  The students volunteer their time and also study so they are ready to use the scholarships that we're able to award.  Basically, the success of The Somerville Mathematics Fund is a community success.  Thank you.

Somerville Mathematics Fund, a Dollars for Scholars Chapter, Named New England Dollars for Scholars® Chapter of the Year

Somerville, April 28, 2011 – Somerville Mathematics Fund, a Dollars for Scholars Chapter, is pleased to announce that it is the recipient of the 2011 New England Chapter of the Year Award.  The Chapter of the Year Award honors and recognizes Dollars for Scholars^® chapters that have performed outstanding service to their community and that exemplify the commitment of Dollars for Scholars and Scholarship America^® to ensuring all students have access to and complete postsecondary education.

They were chartered in September 2000 to celebrate and encourage achievement in mathematics in the city of Somerville, Massachusetts. They offer renewable mathematics scholarships to students who were residents of Somerville during their high school years without regard to which high school the applicant attended.  They offer grants to K-12 teachers of Somerville students for projects to improve mathematics instruction in the classroom or in after-school programs.   As of January, they have awarded a total of  $138,000 in four-year mathematics scholarships to thirty-five students and $47,921 in teacher grants to support one hundred four teachers’ projects and fifteen emergency grants to ESCS teachers after their devastating fire.  They also run middle school family math nights to celebrate Pi, for example, and the Scrapheap Showdown, a high school engineering challege each October.

As the New England Chapter of the Year, Somerville Mathematics Fund, A Dollars for Scholars Chapter, will receive a $500 scholarship and will be entered into the National Chapter of the Year competition. The chapter selected as the National Chapter of the Year will receive a $1,000 scholarship. 

“We are honored by this recognition.  We couldn’t do what we do in the community of Somerville if it weren’t for our wonderful volunteers and donors.  I want to thank them for their continued support and efforts,”  said the chapter president, Erica Voolich, “this award is really recognition of everyone’s effort to make mathematics accessible and exciting here in Somerville.”

About New England Dollars for Scholars^®

·      Northeast Dollars for Scholars provides leadership and support for 280 chapters throughout the six New England states and the state of New York.

·      Northeast Dollars for Scholars actively promotes the Collegiate Partners Program of Scholarship America.  Almost five hundred colleges and universities agree to use Dollars for Scholars scholarships to reduce student and family loan debt and not adjust need-based institutional gift aid the college has already given to the student.  A number of Collegiate Partners also match chapter awards, effectively doubling the scholarship.  Northeast Dollars for Scholars works with 164 Collegiate Partners throughout the seven-state region.

·      In 2010, Northeast chapters awarded almost $19 million in scholarships to more than 15,000 students.  In 2010, Northeast chapters distributed an average of $75,000 each in college scholarships.

About Scholarship America®

Scholarship America mobilizes support for students getting into and graduating from college. The movement began in 1958 with the first Dollars for Scholars chapters. We became a national organization in 1961—and since then, we've helped more than 1.7 million students follow their dream of getting to college.  Go to www.scholarshipamerica.org

 to learn more.

The Somerville Mathematics Fund Announces Winning Teacher Grants

The Somerville Mathematics Fund, an affiliate of Dollars for Scholars, is pleased to announce the winners of its 2010 Teacher Grants to encourage mathematics achievement in the classrooms in Somerville. Again, the members of the board were pleased with the quality of the applications this year and with the exciting things that are happening in the Somerville classrooms. With out the generosity of ESYL, The Somerville Mathematics Fund would not be able to support so many wonderful projects.

The Math Fund wants to thank ESYL for generously underwriting the following teacher grants:

o Annette Bassett at West Somerville Neighborhood School for “Math Resource Center for Teaching and Learning Mathematics” (1-6)

o Kelly Cronin and Joan McGivney at West Somerville Neighborhood School for “Math Take Home Book Bag Program” (K)

o Sandra Dumas at Brown School for “Mathematics and Literature” (5)

o David Farnsworth, Elizabeth Ticcioni, Audrey Song, Latasha Harris,

Brooke McCaffrey, Laura Berger, Gina Desir and Diane Hurvita at Prospect Hill Academy for “Manipulatives for Developing Number Sense” (K)

o Patrice Hobbs at East Somerville Community School at Edgerly, Unidos for “Classroom Math Library” (3)

o Kathryn Jenks at Prospect Hill Academy, Upper School for “TI-SmartView Computer licenses” (11-12)

o Kelly Miller at Brown School for “Computer Projector” (6)

o Tracy Selig at St. Catherine of Genoa School for “Measuring in Math” (2)

o Celia Taylor at the Healey School for the “9th Annual Kindergarten through Second Grade Family Mathematics Night” (K-2)

o Linda Wiegenfeld at the East Somerville Community School at Edgerly for “Family Math Night” (3-4)

The Somerville Mathematics Fund, an affiliate of the national scholarship organization Dollars for Scholars, was chartered in 2000 to celebrate and encourage achievement in mathematics in the city of Somerville, Massachusetts. In early April, the fund will be seeking applications from students who reside in Somerville for college mathematics scholarships. Copies of the scholarship application form is available at www.somervillemathematicsfund.org For more information, to volunteer or to make a tax-deductible contribution, please contact Erica Voolich (666-0666, evenings, or voolich@aol.com).