Challenge Problem #1 Is Solved!- Wednesday, July 13, 2016

"Afterwards, when we actually solved it [the first challenge problem], it was a good feeling, because we worked really hard on this and we had to do a really difficult explanation that most 7th graders going on to 8th grade can't do," explained Milani excitedly, having solved the first challenge problem alongside Deja the night before. 

"I felt really happy solving the problem, because we finally got Malcolm to stop asking 'why?' and 'how?' and 'what'd you do to get there?', and it felt really nice. It was a happy feeling to get it off of our chest," Deja agreed, ecstatic at the thought of finally having pleased Malcolm, the Site Director at Bard, with their explanation for the first challenge problem. 

The prize for solving the first challenge problem is a movie night for all of the BEAMers. If the students solve the second challenge problem by this Friday, they get popcorn on the movie night, which is to take place this upcoming Saturday.

The first challenge problem was: What number divides evenly into every 4-digit palindrome? Prove it. 

Week 1 Classes: Combinatorics

Can you answer these problems?

In combinatorics, students learn to count without counting.  Sure, you can count all the ways to make a word re-arranging the letters in the word cat.  But can you count all the ways to do it with goat?  Zebra?  Monkey?  In this class, students learn clever ways to account for every answer, without under or over counting.  Nice work, students! 

Icebreakers at Vassar

How do you start math camp?  With getting to know you games!  

At Vassar, our students played the following:

• A rock, paper, scissors tournament
• Human Bingo
• Who's that? (a game where team members represent their team, a sheet is dropped, and you have to name the other person first)
• Buzz (a math game about counting and multiples) and we then made it even harder by playing Fizz Buzz!
• Human Knot
• What's behind the green glass door?

Here's some photos of them getting to know each other!

BEAMing Moments

First day of class and awesome activities for the BEAMers. This week's classes: Math Team Strategies; Logic and Proof; Maps, Puzzles, and Graph Theory; Solving Big Problems; Combinatorics; and Number Theory. 

Waking Up At BEAM

On Sunday, the BEAMers had woken up to the hustle and bustle of the city, but this Monday morning, they woke up to the country side’s silence.

After a pleasant walk to the dining hall through the ivy-covered and tree-filled campus, the students had breakfast, boosting their brains for the following Opening Challenge Set, a test designed to measure where the students are at in math. After completing the test, the BEAMers were taken outside, where icebreakers took place, even though the ice had broken a long time ago. Lunch followed, and then the students split up into their respective halls (Hopper, Noether, Ramanujan, and Euler) and received a step-by-step orientation on everything from their daily schedule to how to do laundry. Additionally, each student opened an Art of Problem Solving account as well. The BEAMers were then split up into the activities they had signed up for the night before, these being charades, soccer, a tour of the campus, and Fluxx (a card game). Afterwards, the BEAM instructors gave presentations on the courses they would be teaching this upcoming week, and the students filled out sheets with their preferences regarding the courses.

Later in the evening, while the instructors hid out, huddled together for hours, making sure every student was placed in the appropriate course, the BEAMers enjoyed free time back at the dorms and the basketball court. Hall meetings were held before bed, and the students would wake up tomorrow to their first day of class and to find out what course they’d been assigned to for the upcoming week. What a day for the BEAMers to look forward to.

A BEAMing First Day- Sunday, July 10, 2016

New York City stops for no one. Everything is fast paced, rushed, happening in the blink of an eye. However, the city momentarily stood still this morning as this year's students, better known as BEAMers, arrived at Bryant Park, officializing the beginning of the program.

Check-ins, form-filling, lunch runs, math conversations, and friend-making took place as everyday city-life unfolded on the sidelines. Parents, simultaneously happy, nervous, and proud, said their goodbyes, leaving their children to experience an unforgettable math and life experience.

After all the students had arrived to Bryant Park, both BEAMers and staff members made their way towards Bard College, their home and classroom for the next three weeks. The BEAM staff back at Bard, getting everything ready to the minutest detail, excitedly received the BEAM-filled bus, dorm keys in hand, ready to escort the students to their rooms and show them around. The students made personalized door signs for their rooms, settled in and unpacked, and were taken on tours of the campus.

Dinner came next, and the BEAM group sat together at the dining hall, first-day excitement permeating the very air. Opening ceremonies were held, during which the staff members introduced themselves, and students received a brief orientation. Afterwards, everyone headed back to the dorms, and there was free time for the rest of the evening until hall meetings. During hall meetings, counselors had students sign up for the next day's activities, and thoughts on the day's experience were shared.

Everyone fell asleep looking forward to the first sign of daylight, knowing a math-filled and BEAMing day awaited.

BEAM Students Go to College... full-time!

It's time for our spring newsletter!  Read about our students going to college, our homes for summer 2016, and Ezelle's success in being admitted to the Discovery Program at Brooklyn Tech. 

You can read the full newsletter online.  And sign up below to get future newsletters straight to your inbox!

Family Welcome Lunch

BEAM 2016 is nearly here!  As the first step toward the summer, we invite 7th graders and their families to come, eat pizza, and meet BEAM alumni and parents. 

First, faculty from the summer described what they planned to teach:

Then, students, in 8th grade and in high school, talked about their experiences in BEAM and after.  Here are some highlights:

• Jennora, who attended in 2015, thanked BEAM for support in applying to high school and summer programs.  This summer, she will be attending GOALS for Girls at the Intrepid Museum.  In the fall, she will be heading to Bard High School Early College. 
• Mona, who attended in 2013, announced that she is spending her summer interning at Morgan Stanley working with their technology team.  She credited BEAM with giving her the courage to introduce herself to an Assistant Principal at the high school fair, which lead her to the Academy for Software Engineering.
• Rebecca, who attended in 2015, described her favorite course last summer, Euclidean Geometry, where they learned how to construct two circles in such a way that they formed a triangle, and they were able to prove with certainty that the shape was equilateral. 
• Zavier, who attended in 2011, is graduating high school and heading to SUNY Albany in the fall.  Since BEAM, he has been focused on computer science, and now teaches technology at a maker space. He thanked BEAM for acting as his college guidance counselor, helping with the SAT, his FAFSA, understanding financial aid, and more.

It was so wonderful to see all the 7th graders and imagine where they will be in 5 years!

Navigating the NYC High School Maze

BEAM is proud to announce a first: our first ever quarterly newsletter!  In this Winter 2016 issue, learn about how we help students navigate high school admissions, our plans for summer 2016, and available jobs at BEAM. 

Read the full newsletter online and sign up at the bottom of our page to receive future newsletters.