Sliffe Awards

We nominate Mr. Fisico for the Sliffe Award mainly because his unceasing dedication to mathematics both in and out of school has impressed us deeply. Not only does he supervise our school math club, but he constantly provides us with information on new mathematical activities that we could participate near the bay area. Moreover, he never fails to encourage us to be more active in our pursuit in mathematics. Specifically, he always . . .

Jeanne Beck is the instructional supervisor (equivalent of a department head) of mathematics at Henry M. Gunn High School. In addition to this official position, she is also one of the driving forces behind the problem solving activities at Gunn. She has helped proctor many exams, including the Bay Area Math Olympiad, AMC, AIME and the USAMO. Also, Mrs. Beck leads us to regional competitions such as the Santa Clara Valley Mathematics Association Field Day. . .

Mr. Friedlander has been the Mu Alpha Theta (a mathematics club) sponsor for the past 8 years. He built the club from nothing to one of the top contending schools in not only Florida but in the nation as well. He offers his room everyday to kids who spend time after school learning the wonders of mathematics. Everyone spreads the joy of math in subjects ranging from Algebra I to Calculus. . .

Dr. Hunt has been one of the primary forces behind the success of Chamblee's math team for many years, encouraging students and making arrangements for various competitions. It is thanks to her that dozens of students from each grade participate in competitions, and it is her support which ensures that we have the resources to continue learning and being exposed to various aspects of mathematics. She comes to school early . . .

Excellence can only be achieved when given a proper vehicle for success. These high scores on the American Mathematics Competition could not have been achieved without the undying support and stalwart dedication of our math team sponsor, Mr. Don Slater. For this reason, it is he that we collectively nominate for the Edyth May Sliffe Award for 2007. . .

Dr. Steven Condie is unlike any other math teacher. His energy never fails to brighten a classroom. If there’s one thing that he can always be depended upon, it’s that he’ll give 100% effort. Lady Fortune has shown us favor: she bestowed Dr. Condie upon all of us as a teacher at some point in time. We, Patrick Hurst, Jennifer Iglesias, Tony Liu, Kevin Tao, and Sherry Yu, have all had a variety of classes and . . .

In the past years, Naperville Central High School has had considerable success in its Mathematics program – it has had hundreds of students qualify for the American Invitational Mathematics Examination and has had a considerable amount from that batch qualify for the United States of America Mathematics Olympiad. The person we believe most responsible for the success of the Naperville Central students is Mr. Wallbaum, the Head Coach of our Math Team as well as . . .

Ms. Wexler is a dedicated math team coach who encourages active participation through her genuine interest in the subject. In addition to helping prepare the team for the AMC and AIME contests, she single-handedly oversees administration of the ILML, a six-question test for high-schoolers. She coaches the junior team for the NSML and ICTM contests, competitions she remembers from high school. Because of her lifelong commitment to math team, . . .

It is our honor to nominate Mr. Douglas O’Roark for the Edyth May Sliffe Award. All of us have been members of the Walter Payton math team for at least three years, and each of us feels that much of our growth and interest in mathematics during high school have been due to Mr. O’Roark’s abilities as a coach, a teacher, and a mentor. . .

It is an honor for us to nominate our mathematics teacher, Mrs. Karen Waters, for the Edyth May Sliffe award. Mrs. Waters is truly devoted to mathematics and to her students.

For as long as we have known Mrs. Waters, she has been a passionate and brilliant mathematics teacher in our school. No matter what the class topic is, she teaches it with clarity, emphasizing understanding of the basic concepts and how they form the beauty and complexity of mathematics. . .

Emmanuel Sodbinow - or, as we always call him, Mr. Manny - has been our school's math team coach for the past two years. Mr. Manny has done a great deal for the team, giving up much of his own time to help us practice for math team competitions. He graded our practice problem sheets himself, and, when he felt we needed help or additional practice in some area, managed to dig up problems from all sorts of obscure competitions and . . .

Mrs. Perreault is the natural choice for this nomination at Westford Academy because she is the person who has the most involvement with the math team here. She is paid as a tutor but, out of enthusiasm and good will towards the students, volunteers a tremendous amount of her time for the math team. She single-handedly runs its events and encourages students to participate in a wide variety of contests and activities pertaining to mathematics. . .

Mr. Kilkelly truly deserves the recognition bestowed by the Edyth May Sliffe Award for being an outstanding mathematics coach and teacher at Wayzata High School. We have all been members of our school math team since 9th grade, and we have consistently improved our performance on the many examinations and competitions that Mr. Kilkelly coaches. He is a very strong leader of the team, encouraging and motivating us to reach the next level in our performance. He shows us many different types of fascinating . . .

Mr. Ashton teaches AM Statistics, AP Calculus AB, and Multivariable Calculus in our school The Multiariable Calculus class had just started one year ago in the 205-2006 school year, and he alone took this post. Despite having to prepare a fresh a relatively difficult curriculum, he did his best to teach an interesting and valuable class. He always stressed that we should know not only how to perform the calculations, but also the reasoning behind them. I distinctly remember that in the first year he began the class with a . . .

Mr. Jim Cocoros is a tireless, dedicated math teacher and math team coach whose love of his subject shines through in everything he does. The classes he teaches go above and beyond the basic material in a challenging way that truly expresses the beauty of mathematics to his students, and for this reason they are widely regarded as both the most stimulating and most exacting math courses in the school. . .

We, the undersigned, are delighted to have the opportunity to nominate Mr. Eric Blask for the Edyth May Sliffe Distinguished Teaching Award to commemorate his hard work in preparing us for our success in the American Mathematics Competitions. Over the past year, Mr. Blask has worked tirelessly to get us involved in a variety of contests, such as the Rocket City Math League, Mu Alpha Theta, and the Log 1 Contest (which we never participated in before). As a result, he has exposed us to a wide array of mathematical problems and thus immensely helped prepare us for. . .

It is with pleasure that we write this letter nominating Christopher Field for the Edyth May Sliffe Award. Our team members feel that he is the most responsible for our success on the AMC 12 this year.

For years, Mr. Field has been the assistant curriculum leader in mathematics here at Stephen Leacock C.I. He organizes the math club meetings every week, and many of us improved our problem solving skills greatly from the study sessions. He strongly encourages students to participate in many . . .

We strongly nominate Dr. Yadong Jiang for the special award because of his dedication in teaching us mathematics and passion in helping us prepare for the AMC 12. He loves mathematics very much and goes out of his way to help us succeed in mathematics. He has invested so much time, energy and effort in us that we believe that he deserves to receive the Edyth May Sliffe Award for Distinguished High School Teaching . . .

Mrs. Hohwald’s devotion to Henderson High School’s mathematics team reaches far beyond that of the typical coach. In Calculus class, she is a patient, caring teacher who inspires us with the depth of her understanding of the material, but to the members of our team, she is much more. Under her guidance, this year was our team’s most accomplished one.

Ms. Christie moved from Academy for the Advancement of Science and Technology in New Jersey to teach and lead the AP Calculus/Advanced Calculus program at Bellevue High School in 2002. When she arrived at Bellevue High, she saw the talent and potential in the students here, but there were few opportunities for rigorous mathematical training. She immediately went to work. She first invigorated the math club at school, sought funding to provide books and training, worked with students during the weekends, and held lectures in her own house. She . . .

As a math teacher, Mr. Carpenter's abilities are as diverse as one finds in high school. He has taught (and enjoyed teaching) the very lowest remedial math classes at our urban public high school, facilitated post-calculus classes too advanced for the school (or almost any high school) to offer, challenged our best entering freshman, and opened the eyes of seniors convinced that AP calculus would be too hard for them--all within the last three years. . .

Dean Ballard’s students know him as an unsurpassed lecturer capable of reducing difficult mathematical concepts into easily digestible portions. While the difficulty of his tests is notorious, the same tests stretch students’ minds to truly explore the significance of the math he teaches. Mr. Ballard’s enthusiasm shines through in these difficult problems, both in class and outside, whether for math club, for homework, or even for the vagaries which take us to his office. For many, that year of calculus is the most memorable math course . . .

We received one nomination for a teacher who has already received the Edyth May Sliffe Award twice, which is the maximum allowed by the rules laid down by the Sliffe Trust. We agreed to recognize him here, for his students who continue to appreciate his dedication.

Mr. Jager teaches Algebra II and Calculus BC at MSJHS. He teaches math with great passion. He encourages his students to think deeply and creatively. He often challenges his students with problems more difficult than those found in textbooks to arouse students' interest in math. He always volunteers to organize math competitions at MSJHS. Our school does very well at math competitions, and Mr. Jager's efforts are a big part of our success. We would like to thank Mr. Jager for his wonderful teaching.