News Flash
NEWSLETTER
Published by the Iconoclast Generation
Welcome! We Educate Tomorrow’s Innovators
March 2012 Volume 1, Issue 1
Inside this Issue
1 1 2 2 3 3 4 4
Rachel Wilhite Owner / Instructor At Kelly Miller Math Institute we take a modernized approach to math education. We reach beyond the numbers to foster creativity, reasoning, and forward thinking …
Many of their personalities break the mold of what the world may consider typical or “all the same”. As members of the Iconoclast generation at Kelly Miller Math Institute, students are breaking stereotypes and bending boundaries in math and science. As tomorrow’s innovators, the Iconoclast Generation is relentlessly working to make this world a better world. ∞
We educate tomorrow’s innovators. Welcome!
My Life in Drag Racing
International Women’s Day Why should technology be used in a math classroom? Meet the “Worker Bees” of Kelly Miller Math This Month’s Events
Current Projects
Who is the Green Lantern?
We are passionate about educating the next generation of scientists, doctors, lawyers, artists, writers and educators! Tomorrow's innovators make up all ages, race, gender, and ethnicities. At Kelly Miller Math Institute we offer our future global leaders a strong foundation in and unique approach to mathematics. Deductive Reasoning and Critical Thinking
To prepare students for college level mathematics and future career choices we incorporate deductive reasoning and critical thinking into every tutoring session. Deductive reasoning is more commonly taught in reading but the concepts of applied logic, reasoning, and engaging in problem solving are important factors in mathematics comprehension as well! Every critical thinking exercise is uniquely selected for each student's level of comprehension. We work towards providing a challenging and enriched experience for all students. Who is the Iconoclast Generation?
Kelly Miller Math Institute nd 8560 E. 22 Street, #104 Tucson, AZ. 85710 United States
My Life in Drag Racing Hunter Jones Drag racing has been a huge part of my life. I never really wanted to be a part of it till I was nine years old. My dad is the racer in the family; he has won a ton of races and almost a championship. His dream was to pass the torch to me when I got older. He put me in a go-cart at age nine. I only spent a year in gocarts and that’s when I decided I wanted to race a junior dragster
The Iconoclast Generation is represented by the students of Kelly Miller Math Institute. Each student has their own unique identity in this world.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Continued on page 4
1
March 2012
International Women’s Day Selected by Leah Jones The new millennium has witnessed a significant change and attitudinal shift in both women's and society's thoughts about women's equality and emancipation. Many from a younger generation feel that 'all the battles have been won for women' while many feminists from the 1970's know only too well the longevity and ingrained complexity of patriarchy. With more women in the boardroom, greater equality in legislative rights, and an increased critical mass of women's visibility as impressive role models in every aspect of life, one could think that women have gained true equality. The unfortunate fact is that women are still not paid equally to that of their male counterparts, women still are not present in equal numbers in business or politics, and globally women's education, health and the violence against them is worse than that of men. However, great improvements have been made. We do have female astronauts and prime ministers, school girls are welcomed into university, women can work and have a family, women have real choices. And so the tone and nature of IWD has, for the past few years, moved from being a reminder about the negatives to a If every International Women’s Day event held in 2012 includes girls in some way, then thousands of minds will be inspired globally.
2
celebration of the positives. Annually on 8 March, thousands of events are held throughout the world to inspire women and celebrate achievements. A global web of rich and diverse local activity connects women from all around the world ranging from political rallies, business conferences, government activities and networking events through to local women's craft markets, theatric performances, fashion parades and more
Why should technology be used in a math classroom? http://ti-researchlibrary.com Technology can reduce the effort devoted to tedious computations and increase students’ focus on more important mathematics. Equally importantly, technology can represent math in ways that help students understand concepts. In combination, these features can enable teachers to improve both how and what students learn. Teaching Mathematics Better and Teaching Better Mathematics
As discussed in other research notes in the series, integrating technology into the classroom can improve mathematics teaching. In addition, teachers can use technology to introduce better mathematics. For example, teachers can focus less on memorizing facts and performing routine calculations and
more on developing ideas, exploring consequences, justifying solutions, and understanding connections – the real heart of mathematics. In addition, teachers can introduce more advanced mathematical topics earlier. Both the opportunity to teach math better and to teach better math should be considered in school technology plans and teacher professional development.∞
.
TI-Nspire™ CX CAS Handheld COLOR SCREEN, THIN DESIGN, RECHARGEABLE BATTERY Stay mobile, continue learning Explore higher-level math concepts Visualize in full color 3D Graphing
Become a Calculator Guru with the latest technology from Texas Instruments.
All materials (books and calculators) provided for use in summer courses.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
NEWSLETTER
Meet the “Worker Bees” of Kelly Miller Math Rachel Wilhite Did you know that it takes an army (n ≤ 4 persons) to keep your favorite hangout running?!? Let’s see if you know who’s who and what’s what!
also an accomplished bell player in the band! Ms. Sylvia traveled all the way to California by train at the age of 17 to attend college in Monterey, California. She was friends with Huey Newton before the Black Panthers and she’s related to a cast member of The Cosby Show. Amber Haifley
Your tutor, Rachel, has been in school for a really long time. She’s always loved math because she didn’t have to memorize anything or write really long papers. Rachel loves to learn about everything and anything if she can find the numbers in it.
Amber attends The Academy of Tucson Middle School. Amber has known Ms. Sylvia for 12 years; her whole life! Amber plays volleyball for The Academy of Tucson and she likes to “shoot hoops” from time to time. Amber handles many of the day-to-day tasks of Kelly Miller Math. Her position is Jr. Receptionist Intern. If you need anything done Amber’s the one!
Fun facts: Rachel is a cat lover; one of her favorite food items is pepperoni pizza with extra cheese and double extra sauce. Her favorite movie of all time: Back to the Future. Rachel loves to talk time travel! She holds a national pageant title and held a national position with the Miss Black USA Organization. She is a classically trained pianist, played piccolo in her high school band, and she has traveled to Africa twice.
Fun Facts: Amber loves the word “fuzzy”. She has a new kitten named Harvey. Rachel calls him “Milk” for short. Her cat scratches her A LOT. Amber also has a hamster by the name of Ron. She likes to organize things and she picks the themes for our parties. Amber took a class in Hip-Hop dancing! She likes hip-hop music and some pop music. Amber has a “way cool” tree house in her back yard.
Sylvia Wilhite
LATEST ADDITION! Sierra Haifley
Rachel Wilhite
Ms. Sylvia is our very own in house “Den Mom”. Ms. Sylvia was born in Ama, Louisiana. She grew up in the city of New Orleans and attended school in the country (Ama). She is an only child but grew up with 20+ first cousins! Ms. Sylvia has 10 years’ experience in K-3 reading as a teacher’s aide / tutor and 3 years’ experience with the State of Louisiana Homeschool system. Fun facts: Ms. Sylvia played basketball throughout high school and college. She used to be really really tall! She was selected as prom queen her senior year of high school and she served as a majorette for the band. Ms. Sylvia was
Welcome our latest addition, Sierra Haifley. Sierra attends The Academy of Tucson High School. Sierra has also known Ms. Sylvia her whole life! She is extremely talented in art/ drawing. Sierra will help with designing flyers, banners, t-shirts, and signs for The Iconoclast Generation. She will also help to publish our Newsletter and Facebook page.
(Talk about a time warp). Sierra was an active member of the 4-H Club and received many blue ribbons! She volunteers for the Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA) AND she can play the piano and guitar by ear. ∞
.
This Month’s Events 03/09/12 International Women’s Day 03/14/12 National Pi Day (3.14) Pi, Greek letter (), is the symbol for the ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter. Pi Day is celebrated by math enthusiasts around the world on March 14th. Pi = 3.1415926535 03/15/12 5pm-7pm, Kelly Miller Math Inst. Green Lantern Party We’re celebrating March babies and St. Patrick’s Day with a special “Green Lantern” Party. Pizza, birthday cake, movies (Green Lantern) and Fun!! (03.01 Leah Jones, 03.04 Ms. Sylvia) 3/17/12 Happy St. Patrick’s Day 03/23/12 Kelly Miller Math Inst. Summer 2012 Course Catalog Extra! Extra! The Summer 2012 Course Catalog is released today. Pick up a copy in office or check out our website to view course online. For more information call 520-979-3454.
Fun facts: Rachel held Sierra as a baby!
Submit your summaries, ideas, photos, and current work for publication in YOUR newsletter. Share your cool topics, fun facts, and current events with family and friends
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
3
March 2012
Open House Tour
Open House attendees were greeted with a warm and inviting reception area Open House Attendee followed by a short tour of the Institute. st The computer area offers desktop February 21 marked the celebration of computers with work space and a game Carnival across the globe. Closer to table where students can home Kelly Miller engage in deductive Math Institute “This is so much more reasoning games that test celebrated its’ than math tutoring … their logic skills. The Grand Opening in These kids are wow; the multipurpose tutoring traditional New things they’re doing are room provides space for Orleans Fat unbelievable” engaging tutoring Tuesday Style. sessions and creative – Open House Attendee project work. In Not only were the addition to laptop access in this area, doors of Kelly Miller Math open to the students also have access to a 42” public, current students were celebrated monitor that can be used to visually for their academic accomplishments in engage students in school work, project mathematics. Students showcased their work, and the occasional movie night work in the forms of video where fun and science fiction are mixed presentations, hand built machinery, and in. Kelly Miller Math offers students a scientific posters. Kelly Miller Math variety of resources for math tutoring. students truly exhibited the motto: Their tutoring methods and materials “We reach beyond the numbers to account for all types of learning: visual foster creativity, reasoning, and (seeing), auditory (hearing), kinesthetic forward thinking” (moving), and tactile (touching). Introducing the Iconoclast Generation
In addition to the richness of math projects, Kelly Miller Math introduced their burgeoning project, The Iconoclast Generation (see page 1 for details). Their upcoming summer session takes an even bigger step towards innovation by creating an identity for the Kelly Miller Math Student. The Iconoclast Generation identity solidifies the Kelly Miller Math student as an innovator and rule breaker for all stereotypes that predefine the “straight A student”.
In addition to the coolest graphing calculators, students will also have an opportunity to try their hand at statistical analysis using TinkerPlots® and Fathom® Dynamic Data Exploration software from Key Curriculum Press. TinkerPlots® makes data analysis for beginner students more engaging with activities that enhance critical thinking skills and understanding and interpretation of data.
Food and Fun
Traditional Mardi Gras masks and beads set the tone for the evening’s activities. Attendees and students topped of the night of festivities with a traditional New Orleans style second line and superb traditional creole jambalaya, bread pudding, and King Cake (catered by Kevyn’s Kitchen). Food and fun was enjoyed by all. ∞
Students can take one course or several. Pricing options are available for the student who wants to take one class or hang for the whole day! For additional information on Kelly Miller Math Institute’s 2012 Summer Session please visit www.KellyMillermath.com or call 520979-3454.
Summer Session 2012 Rachel Wilhite Our summer 2012 session will offer students a unique opportunity to work with the latest TI-NSPIRETM CX CAS graphing calculator from Texas Instruments. Texas Instruments is a global leader in education technology for math and science. Their latest
4
calculator in the Texan Instruments’ family allows students to view full-color images and more clearly interpret data, charts and graphs; all of which help them to better connect complex concepts to real-world learning. In addition, the TI-Nspire CX has 3Dgraphing capabilities and software that allows users to upload their own color photos and animations. curriculum will introduce students to the usefulness of graphing calculators as a tool for analyzing and assessing real world problems. Each student in our summer enrichment course will be provided with a TI-NSPIRE calculator for in class use!
Summer 2012 Enrichment Courses
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
NEWSLETTER
Continued from Page 1
My dad got licensed in a top fuel dragster at age 14, but he didn’t really know much about any of it. However, as the years went on he got better at it. So I got licensed in a junior dragster and have learned to love it. I ended my first season in 10th out of 15 drivers. I went on to my second season with my nephew and teammate Grant Jones. I ended that season with not one win, and I finished 7th in the season and Grant ended right behind me in 8th with one win in the season. After that season my dad’s company hosted a four race season and on the second race of that season I got my first race win ever! It was happiest day of my life. Now I am going into my 3rd racing season and the new racer by my side is my 12 year old niece Leah Jones. I bet this season will be the best of them all because I have my family supporting me and my dad as my crew chief, and my teammates beside me like Alex Gray, Courtnee Boettcher, and Marissa Boettcher. It will be great. ∞
.
Current Projects Space Mountain and Math Leah Jones History of Shark Attacks Hunter Jones Journey to Atlantis (SeaWorld) Kenzie Ogden Origins of the number “666” Grant Jones The Trebuchet Amber Haifley
Tell us about you!! Submit your mini bio and fun facts to Amber for publication in next month’s newsletter.
Who is the Green Lantern? Wikipedia The first Green Lantern (Alan Scott) was created by writer Bill Finger and artist Martin Nodell in All-American Comics #16 (July 1940). Each Green Lantern possesses a power ring and power lantern that gives the user great control over the physical world as long as the wielder has sufficient willpower and strength to wield it. The ring is one of the most powerful weapons in the universe and can be very dangerous. While the ring of the Golden Age Green Lantern (Alan Scott) is magically powered, the rings worn by all subsequent Lanterns are technological creations of the Guardians of the Universe, who granted such rings to worthy candidates. This shift to a technological explanation reflects the comic book industry's tendency to explain extraordinary powers through science and reasoning rather than magic. These individuals made up the intergalactic police force known as the Green Lantern Corps. After World War II, when sales of superhero comic books generally declined, DC ceased publishing new adventures of Alan Scott as the Green Lantern. ∞
Kelly Miller Math on Facebook Sierra Haifley
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
5
March 2012
Summer 2012 Students pack your bags and take a vacation with the Iconoclast Generation! Session 1: June 4 – June 29, 2012 Session 2: July 9 – August 3, 2012 Learn how to use our amazing new color screen calculators and our mind blowing computer programs for math and statistics…
6
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .