WELCOME TO MATH OLYMPIADS hosted by SchoolPlus MOEMS - American Mathematical Olympiads for Elementary and Middle Schools MOEMS is a public foundation which provides opportunities for children to engage in creative problem solving activities which develop a child's ability to reason, to be logical, to be resourceful, and occasionally to be ingenious. There are five Olympiads being given every month from November 2007 to March 2008. The Olympiad Committee collects the results and keeps a cumulative score for each participant. Each Olympiad consists of 5 questions, worth 1 point each. The Olympiad goals are the following: Develop enthusiasm for problem solving and mathematics, deepen understanding of mathematical concepts and strengthen ability to use these concepts, enrich experiences in intellectually stimulating and significant mental activities. During this school year, SchoolPlus has been participating in the Mathematical Olympiads for Elementary and Middle Schools (MOEMS). Participating in Math Olympiads is an integral part of the SchoolPlus Mathematics Program. Of course, it is a competition, and some kids will be winners and some will not. But we strongly believe that every kid will benefit by being exposed to these clever and challenging problems. The contests are a challenge and an opportunity to grow. Learning how to solve a problem and to understand its underlying mathematical concepts are the most important goals of mathematics education. About 150,000 students from 5,000 teams worldwide participated in the Olympiads this year. All 50 states and 25 countries were represented. The highlights for students are the five monthly contests, given from November to March. There are two grade appropriate divisions (Elementary school 4-6 and Middle school 7-8). Each contest consists of five non-routine problems with a time limit of 25 minutes for the entire contest. Every problem requires careful mathematical thinking. A student scores 1 point for each correct answer. Thus, a student may score up to 25 points during the year. After each contest, results are submitted to MOEMS for scorekeeping. In the Elementary Division a student received a first place award if he scored from 19 – 25 points (top 2%), and a second place award for scores of 14 – 18 points (top 10%). In the Middle Division a student received the first place award for scoring from 22 – 25 points (top 2%), and for second place, 16 – 21 points (top 10%).