At Sea Crest School. our math teachers, Matthew Twining and Corrinne Lieu are working towards incubating our next generation of mathematicians. We have been living and breathing the words of mathematician Paul Lockhart.

All middle school students have put themselves into the position of a mathematician, tinkering through hard problems, sharing their observations with their learning community and then using their collective intellect to find solutions to the problems. They have used algebra tiles extensively to make their abstract work tangible.

They’ve looked at Pascal's Triangle, understood how patterns that are immediately apparent come about as a result of other patterns that exist on a more micro-level. They also understand that patterns sometimes follow a trend that might  look different as the pattern grows.

They try hard to identify these patterns and share their findings with their peers to see what other insights may be uncovered, and in the process, develop a versatile mental ‘toolkit’ to grapple mathematical and logical puzzles in many different ways. 'Right' or 'wrong' is not so much of a focus. Rather than stressing computational accuracy, we guide students through the process of discovering the power and beauty of using logic to solve problems; mastery emerges naturally from this.

If your 8th grader is planning on preparing for his or her high school placement exam with Pete Fingerhut's Coastside Prep test preparation course offered at Sea Crest this fall, please let us know by signing up. The cost for this 6-week course is $595.  Classes run from the week of October 17 through December 12. All classes will be one-day per week from 3:15-4:45 PM on the Sea Crest Campus. Coach Strong has been involved in the planning of the schedule to best accommodate athletes.  Depending on the number of respondents, we may run more than one section of the class. Sea Crest will distribute students into classes to attain even class sizes.

Please fill out the  Coastside Prep Registration Form if you wish to enroll your child.

There is a mandatory parent meeting on Tuesday, October 11, 2016 from 7:15 AM to 8:00 AM for all students traveling with Sea Crest to Washington D.C. Parents will receive final trip details from Ms. Connelly and Ms. Patti.

Next  Friday, September 30th at 7 pm, Challenge Success will be hosting our annual parent education event at Stanford University. This year's program,  Media Rules: Healthy Connections in the Digital Age, features psychologist and award-winning author  Dr. Catherine Steiner-Adair, and Challenge Success Co-Founders  Dr. Madeline Levine and  Dr. Denise Pope. Navigating technology can feel like uncharted and unprecedented territory for many parents. Find out how we can effectively manage media use when the rules of engagement seem to be constantly changing.  Join us for an interactive discussion on how adults and kids can establish healthy connections and positive relationships in the digital age.

You are all invited to an introductory parent meeting about our 2017 International Trip to  Iceland  on  Tuesday, September 27  from  6:30-7:00 pm  in Mr. Kashima's classroom, MS 6.  Look forward to hearing about this exciting trip for your child to a geological wonderland that will take place over Spring Break,  April 8-13, 2017 .