Newsletter
July 2016
Newsletter Dedicated to Student Achievements
End of Year Awards Ceremony for Willowdale Campuses, held at the Incarnation Campus
Congratulations to all the Spirit of Math students who made
the National Math Contests Honour Rolls!
The outstanding achievements on all these contests are due to the unwavering support from parents,
the steadfast effort from students and the dedicated work of the teachers. A child
who has an entire community ready to support him/her has a great chance to reach his/her potential.
On behalf of all the Spirit of Math staff, I would like to congratulate all students who participated in a
math contest this year. Your courage to test yourself against unknown questions is the same type of
courage you will need in your future as you become leaders in any field of your choosing.
Kim Langen | CEO & Co Founder
A complete list of all the students that participated and won awards can be found in the link below. If
incase we have missed out a participants name in the list, kindly send your request to the Marketing
Dept. with subject line "Missing Honour Roll." Please include participants name, grade, score and
contest name.
https://www.spiritofmath.com/math-contests/
Outstanding Achievements:
Congratulations to the following students on their outstanding accomplishments outside
of Spirit of Math:
Alex Hogan
Alex Hogan, grade 6, placed first in the May 2016 Caribou Math
Contest. His robotics team placed first in programming at the
VEX Robotics World Championships in Kentucky, and his team
placed first in the Port Credit Dragon Boat Competition.
Honor Stanton
Honor Stanton (Extreme Right)
Honor Stanton, grade 9, won 1st place Impromptu Speaking at
the Branksome Hall Nora McRae Public Speaking Tournament,
and 3rd place in Junior Impromptu Public Speaking at the
Country Day School Public Speaking Competition. Her team won
1st place at the Youth Philanthropic Initiative Challenge and 4th
place at the Ridley College Debate Tournament. She won 5th
place at the Team Parliamentary Intermediate Debate.
Kayley Ting
Kayley Ting (Centre)
Kayley Ting, grade 11, was one of Canada's Top Young
Scientists as announced at the Canada-Wide Science Festival.
She won a Gold Medal at the York Region Science and
Technology Fair and will be part of Team Ontario at the national
competition in Montreal.
Karun Ram
Karun Ram, a Spirit of Math student living in India. He competed
in the 2016 World Scholar's Cup and won 2 First Place medals,
1 Second Place medal, 2 Third Place medals, and 1 Fourth
Place medal. He also won 7 Medals of Honour and placed in the
top 5% in the individual challenges.
Vanessa Poiana
Vanessa Poiana, grade 6, wrote a short story called "The Race"
and was selected to be published by Young Writers of Canada in
the Annual Young Writers Creative Writing Anthology.
Quinton Dawkins
Quinton Dawkins, grade 5, won 5 gold medals in All-round,
Parallel Bars, High Bar, Floor, and All-round Team at the Eastern
Championship for Men's Artistic Gymnastics.
Quinton Dawkins (Extreme Right)
Ioana Pitu
Ioana Pitu, former SMS student and current assistant teacher at
the Mississauga West campus, traveled to the DECA
International Conference in Nashville, Tennessee to compete in
the Franchising Business Plan category with a 15-minute
presentation and 30-page report on Spirit of Math Schools
......................................................................................................................................................
Spirit of Math Student Achievements:
Congratulations to the following students on their achievements
outside of Spirit of Math:
Anna Margaret Tamlin, grade 5, won Athlete of the Year at the Spectrum North Baton
Club.
Anwar Al-Shamkhany, grade 6, achieved 3rd place in Red Belt Sparring in
Taekwondo.
Aaron Liu, grade 2, was selected for the Richmond Hill Coyotes AAA Hockey Rep
Team.
Aarye Chandra, grade 8, placed second in the Effective Speaking 2016 Competition
for the A-711 District organized by Lions Clubs International. He was also selected to
play on the Appleby U14 Division 2 Basketball Team, which came second in the
CISAA Division 2 championship. Aarye got the highest score in the Grade 7 Gauss
Competition in his school.
Aayan Shivji, grade 2, won 1st prize in the Primary Category at the Spelling Bee
Regional Competition, 4th place in the Primary Category for the Spelling Bee Ontario
Championship, and 3rd place in the Junior Category for the Day School Spelling Bee
Competition.
Alexia Tudose, grade 6, received the Scholar's Award for Academic Excellence at
her day school.
Alexis Kim, grade 6, won 3rd place for Grade 8 String at the Ontario Music Festivals
Association Provincial Final. She also won 1st place for Grade 8 Cello at the Kiwanis
Music Festival and the North York Music Festival.
Amaal Bhanji, grade 8, received a Bronze Medal for Academic Achievement and a
Bronze Medal for the Community Volunteer Service at the 2016 Regional ISTAR
Awards.
Ana Aguirregabiria, grade 6, has been accepted at The York School and will receive
The York School's Leadership Award, which is given to students who have
distinguished themselves through strong academic and extra-curricular
achievements.
Andrew and Michael Jimbouev, grade 3, achieved 1st place in Novice League
Hockey and passed the Grade 2 Royal Conservatory of Music Piano Practical Exam
with Honours.
Andrew Cautisanu, grade 8, won a Gold Medal in the Oakville Red Hockey House
League U14, and passed the Bronze Medallion in EFA Swimming.
AndyGanea, grade 7, passed the Grade 7 Piano exam with Honours at The Royal
Conservatory of Music.
Anika Asher, grade 7, achieved 3rd place in the City of Allen, Texas 7th Grade UIL
Math Competition.
Annabel Liu, grade 5, won 3rd Place at the Peel Music Festival Piano Grade 5 List C
Competition, passed the Cecchetti Method Grade 3 Exam for Classical Ballet, and
won 1st place for Ballet Solo at the Move Dance Competition. She also won the 1st
place Platinum Award in Ballet Solo at the Hall of Fame Dance Competition and 1st
place in Ballet Solo at the Be Dance Competition.
Anthony Keen, grade 8, passed the Bronze Cross in the Life Saving Society, placed
3rd in Bantam House League, and won First Class Honours in hockey and achieved
the Purple Advanced Belt in Karate.
Artina Shirazi, grade 4, received a Guitar Level 1 Certificate from the Ontario
Conservatory of Music.
Ayaan Zaveri, grade 2, won a Gold Medal in the Junior First Lego League "Waste
Wise" Competition.
Branav Kumar Gnanamoorthy, grade 5, won a Silver Medal in Piano at the Kiwanis
Festival.
Brianna Lee, grade 5 and her team, won 2nd place in the City Finals Soccer
Tournament.
Carson Wong, grade 2, has completed the Grade 2 piano exam with Honours and
Distinction. He also won third place in the North York Music Festival, Grade 2, List C.
Carter Robinson, grade 4, placed 4th in the 400 m Race and1st in the Grade 4 Boys
Relay.
Celina Mew, grade 3, won 3rd place in the Junior Acro Solo in the "Kick It Up" Dance
Competition.
Charlie Keen, grade 6 and his team, won 2nd place in Pee Wee House League
Hockey.
Charlie Skalenda, grade 6, is currently ranked 3rd in Canada in the 800 Free 11U at
the Toronto Swim Club. He also has 6 top ten rankings in other events including
freestyle, breaststroke, and individual medley and will be competing in the Provincial
Meet in June.
Christian Chung, grade 4, won a Gold Medal at the Royal Conservatory of Music for
the highest mark at the Provincial Level. He received a Scholarship at the ORMTA
annual piano scholarship recital and received First Class Honours with Distinction in
the Level 2 Piano exam with the Royal Conservatory of Music. His hockey team won
First Place.
Clare Dobbin, SMS Assistant Teacher, won the University of Waterloo's National
Math Scholarship and Entrance Scholarship.
David Kofman, grade 6, has been selected to publish his original poem in "Urban
Voices".
Daniel Iliescu, grade 3, was a finalist in the Valan Tennis Academy Green Dot
Tournament and a semi-finalist at the Martingrove U10 Rogers Rookie Tennis
Tournament.
Dhiya Ganeshprasad, grade 2, was a runner-up for the TATA Young Expressions
Drawing Competition in the North American zone under the Brushstrokes age 5 - 8
Category.
Dhvani Ganes, grade 6, has been promoted to the STARSkate Level in Skate
Canada's figure skating program.
Dyuti Ganesh, grade 4, has been promoted to the STARSkate Level in Skate
Canada's figure skating program.
Elijah Liu, grade 8, represented his school at the Ontario Math Olympics and won 2
Gold Medals. He topped the Individual Grade 7 Boys segment and his team scored
1st place in the Team Relay segment.
Emi De Grandpre, grade 5, won three Gold Medals for balance beam, floor, and AllRound at the City of Toronto Gymnastics Meet.
Emma Luk, grade 5, placed second and third for Grade 3 Piano at the 2016 Peel
Music Festival 2016.
Eric Liu, grade 2, received the 3rd best score in Canada for the Math Kangaroo
International Math Contest.
Eva Martelli, grade 4, and her team won 2 Gold Medals for Ontario Improve for their
school board.
Glen Raudanskis, grade 8, won the Silver Medal Provincial Championship in Boys
Gymnastics.
Grace Tucker-Pieczonka, grade 5, passed her Level 3 Royal Conservatory of Music
Piano Exam with Honours.
Han-Young Jung, grade 4, achieved a Red-Stripe Belt in Taekwondo.
Iveren Kange, grade 6, passed the Grade 2 Piano exam with Honors at the Royal
Conservatory of Music.
Jackson Hood, grade 5, won 1st place in the Speech Contest at the Junior Level in
his day school and he represented his school at the Area Speech Finals. His hockey
team won 1st place in the Atom Division.
Jade Dawkins, grade 3, achieved a Gold Medal in Vault, a Silver Medal in Floor and
Uneven Bars, and a Bronze Medal in Beam at Twisters Gymnastics Club.
Jaden Elgin, grade 2, earned 1st place in the 3K 11U division and 2nd place in the 1mile 11U division at the TruSpeed Invitational Races.
Jaxon Xie, grade 1, won 2nd place in the Milton Music Festival Piano Competition
and 2nd place in the Brantford Kiwanis Music Festival Violin Competition.
Jenna Hassan, grade 4, won a Bronze Medal for Floor and a Bronze Medal for Bars
at the Ontario Gymnastics Provincial Championships.
Jordan Jamali, grade 9, won a Silver Medal for TEAMS Math Olympics.
Joyce Oh, grade 7, won first prize in Math Blitz at the 10th Mackenzie Science and
Engineering Olympics.
Justin Chou, grade 2, won third place at the Mandarin Lions Arts Festival 2016
Competition in Bilingual Verse Speaking Trophy Class.
Katherine Wilson, grade 2, has been awarded the Girl Guides of Canada's 2016 Girl
Greatness Award for her resourcefulness.
Kavin Arasu, grade 6, passed the Grade 2 Vocal exam with Honours, was named
Student of the Month at Arcadia Music Academy, and was a runner-up in his school
Speech Competition.
Keon Fisher, grade 4, passed his Grade 1 Piano exam with Honours and was the
Grade Four Winner for the Colleen Murphy Short Story Contest at his day school.
Kevin Guo, grade 4, won 2nd place in the 2016 Ontario Table Tennis Tournament
U11 category and 3rd place in the U13 category.
Kyler Millay, grade 6, earned 1st place in his school's science fair.
Laura Tiberiu, grade 8, won 1st place in the Bedazzled Dance Competition.
Luca Fulga, grade 5, finished 2nd in both Slalom and Combined in his age group in
the Outaouais region.
Markus Segal, grade 3, made the finals for his school at the Track and Field meet.
He made the team for Select Basketball.
Matthew Crank, grade 5, had the highest individual score in his division at the Junior
Math Olympics hosted by the Simcoe Muskoka Catholic School Board. He won a
Bronze Medal at the Simcoe County Regional Science and Technology Fair.
Matthew Harris, grade 7, placed fourth overall in the TDSB city finals for the 100m
swimming relay.
Max Haim, grade 6, represented his school at the York Region Track and Field
Competition. He won two first-place awards at the North York Festival and his winning
piece was honoured at the Gala.
Michael Chen, grade 6, won 1st place in Senior Piano at the Newmarket Music
Festival.
Nathan Ho, grade 3, received the highest academic achievement in Grade 3
Chinese at Victoria Education Centre.
Nicole Bucur, grade 5, won 1st place at the Davenport Festival of Music and passed
the Royal Conservatory of Music Grade 3 Piano exam with First Class Honours.
Nicole Demian, grade 4, won 2nd place at ACE Future Stars Tennis Tournament.
Nora Grande, grade 4, ranked first in her class's Reading Rallies at Lycée Français
de Toronto.
Olivia Zaremski, grade 7, obtained 1st place in the York Region Glee/Show School
Choir Competition.
Philip Lungu, grade 4, won the Slalom Championship and came in third for the Grand
Slalom Championship at the Vorlage Ski Race.
Purva Ajmani, grade 9, won 2nd place in the Spelling Bee Competition at the City
Level.
Qail Andani, grade 5, received the Concours Festival D'art Oratoire Region of Peel
Champion Award and Provincial Finals Participation Award.
Ritvik Jayanthi, grade 6, passed the Level 2 Guitar exam with First Class Honours at
the Academy of Music.
Rohan Shrivastava, grade 4, won 3rd place in the 2016 Raritan Valley Pine Wood
Derby and Cub Games across all dens and packs in the state. Rohan will be
competing at the World Pinewood Derby Championship.
Ronald You, grade 6, won 3rd place in the Royal Canadian Legion's Annual Public
Speaking Contest, and his badminton team placed 2nd the TDSB Conference Finals.
Ryan Yu, grade 6, won the Regional Dragon Duel Championship in Yu-Gi-Oh and is
going to Pittsburgh to compete in the Nationals in July. He also qualified for the
Canadian Youth Chess Championship in Windsor in July.
Samuel Bonett, grade 4, won a Gold Medal in Sparring at the PCAMA Karate Team
Tournament.
Sanah Kapoor, grade 7, won the "Hit the Turf" Soccer Tournament and was selected
for her school soccer team.
Sasha Tsatourian, grade 3, won first place in the Chess Institute of Canada's
tournament and has been recently admitted to Mensa Canada.
Senater Kange, grade 7, passed the Grade 3 Piano exam with Honors at The Royal
Conservatory of Music.
Summer Kim, grade 3, won 3rd place in French Public Speaking at her day school.
Suraj Bansal, grade 7, was the second-highest scorer for Thornhill Rebels Peewee
Select Team. He made it to the NYHL playoffs.
Taylor Gomez, grade 5, placed 2nd in the Relay at Track & Field.
Tejas Prakash, grade 5, achieved a red stripe belt in Taekwondo.
Thalya Mack, grade 3, came in 1st in her dance category. She also received a
Judges Choice Award for Musicality.
Tony Zhu, grade 2, won the Most-Sportsmanlike Medal in hockey.
Trinity Chung, grade 4, won a Gold Medal in Provincial Level Grade 4 Piano at the
Royal Conservatory of Music. She won 1st place and two-2nd place awards in Level
5 Piano at the Peel Music Festival, where she received a Scholarship Award.
Tristan Tarrant, grade 4, is a Minor Mosquito AAA Champion in the Vaughan
Tournament.
Vlad Oprea, grade 4, passed the Grade 2 Piano exam with Honours, was the
Newmarket Tennis Club U12 Tennis Champion, and was a Mayfair Rogers Rookie
Tennis U10 Finalist.
Xavier Mazzotta, grade 5, performed a clarinet solo at the spring recital in the St.
Michael's All Angels Church.
Yarik Popov, grade 6, achieved his Brown Belt in Karate.
Yinuo Liu, grade 10, won 2nd place at the Peel Music Festival Piano Grade 9 List C
Competition. Yinuo also won the School Merit Award for Mathematics and the Overall
Proficiency Award in day school.
Zak Karim, grade 1, has raised $1400 for the Aga Khan Partnership Walk.
Ziwen Chen, grade 2, placed 3rd in the Kiwanis Music Festival for Piano Solo.
Graduating Assistant Teachers
Every year we are both proud and sad to see some of our Assistant Teachers move
on to post-secondary studies. Proud - because they are on to a new and exciting
phase in their lives, and sad - because some are moving to new cities where they
will no longer be playing a role in our Spirit of Math classrooms. Here are
some assistants, at an end of year event, who are moving onto university with CEO and
Co-Founder Kimberley Langen
This year:
Alexei Tsybulsky will be attending the University of Waterloo for the
Math/Business Double Degree Program.
Andrew Gao will be attending the University of Toronto for Computer Science.
Andrew Nitu will be attending the University of Waterloo for Financial
Mathematics.
Caitlin Chua will be attending Wilfred Laurier University for Honours Business
Administration.
Carmen Li will be attending Queen's University for Honours Science.
Hana Mussaji will be attending Queen's University for concurrent education.
Christian Pavlidis will be attending the University of Toronto for Civil Engineering.
Clare Dobbin will be attending the University of Waterloo for Mathematics Co-Op.
Darren Chan will be attending the University of Toronto for Life Sciences.
Dhruv Tayl will be attending the University of Western Ontario at Ivey Business
School.
Emma Tse will be attending the University of Waterloo for Honours Mathematics
and Chartered Professional Accountancy.
Gregory Wong will be attending the University of Toronto for Electrical
Engineering.
Jessica Siew will be attending the University of Waterloo for Accounting and
Financial Management.
Justine Lo will be attending the University of St Andrews for Medicine.
Katelyn Tsang will be attending the University of Ottawa for Biomedical
Sciences.
Kelly Qin will be attending McMaster University for Honours Life Sciences.
Lorina Qin will be attending the University of Toronto for Mathematical and
Physical Sciences.
MacKenzie Wong will be attending the University of Waterloo for Honours
Mathematics and Chartered Professional Accountancy.
Maggie Han will be attending the University of Waterloo for Computer
Engineering.
Matthew Ban Kim will be attending the University of Waterloo for Software
Engineering.
Mehul Gupta will be attending the University of Waterloo for Computer Science.
Moujan Saderi will be attending the University of Waterloo for Biomedical
Engineering.
Nathalie Trinh will be attending McMaster University for Life Sciences.
Partha Patel will be attending McGill University for Biological, Biomedical, & Life
Sciences.
Pascale Tsai will be attending the University of Toronto for Life Sciences.
Rachel Marian Chan will be attending the University of Waterloo for
Environmental Engineering.
Rhea Hirji will be attending the University of Ottawa for Economics and Public
Policy.
Samantha Visva will be attending McMaster University for Health Science.
Tanya Jain will be attending Western University for Medical Science Program.
Teodora Bildaru will be attending Carlton University for Bio Medical Electrical
Engineering.
Uma Kalkar will be attending the University of Toronto for Human Biology.
Valiant Chan will be attending the University of British Columbia for Media
Studies and Master of Management.
Victor Yu will be attending the University of Waterloo for Software Engineering.
Releasing the Genius in Our Community
Take a Suitcase, Change a Life. Giving Back Adds Up!
Spirit of Math believes in giving back to the community. Not Just Tourists gives people, who are
travelling, a great way to stray from the beaten path and find the friendly faces of small communities in
need. Spirit of Math is encouraging everyone to take the first step to help others when you travel
next. On your next vacation, take a suitcase of medical supplies to a community in need, meet
amazing local doctors and nurses, and give back to those who give so much to tourists.
Love - it's what Not Just Tourists is all about! Read more
World Partnership Walk!
Spirit of Math had a wonderful day at the Aga Khan Foundation's World Partnership
Walk
this year! On Sunday May 29th, over 100 SMS teachers, parents, students, families
and
staff came out to walk the streets of downtown Toronto and raise money to end global
poverty. This year Spirit of Math students, parents and employees raised over $10,000
for this event. World Partnership Walk events also took place in Vancouver, Victoria,
and Calgary. The walk raised money for development projects in impoverished
communities in Africa and Asia. Around 7, 000 people registered to take
part in this year's event. Read more
News & Events
We are excited to share some of our recent events and news updates with you. Stay tuned
for more updates.
Spirit of Math has a New Website!
Spirit of Math has a new look! Check out our brand new
website launched just last week. Features include
individual campus pages with campus-specific information
and
messages from the directors and owners, detailed
descriptions of every facet of our curriculum for all grades,
and information on our history, hiring process, summer
camps, testimonials, and more.
Year End Ceremonies
Another year at Spirit of Math has come to an end amidst a
flurry of celebration and pride! Spirit of Math campuses
throughout Canada held end-of-year celebrations this week
where excited students participated ...
Read more
Classes resume the week of Sept 3rd to Sept 9th in
Canada, and the second week in August in Plano, Tx.
Celebrating 10 Years!
This year the Richmond Hill, Markham West, and
Mississauga West campuses are celebrating their 10-year
anniversaries! It is hard to believe it's been ten years
already, and it's been wonderful to watch the students
grow throughout that time.Read more
Kindergarten Graduation!
Spirit of Math's Kindergarten class was a great success!
Eleven eager youngsters joined our class, which started in
January of this year, to experience many new ideas while
having fun with like-minded peers...
Read more
SPIRIT OF MATH'S CAMP EXPERIENCE - It's Amazing!
Dear Parents of Spirit of Math students,
Spirit of Math summer camps are just around the corner! Our summer program offers an
intensive, exciting and fun week of math enrichment camps based on our unique curriculum.
There are many different programs available for students to choose from; these can be
found on our website under camp schedules and camp offerings.
Registration for the 2016-17 school year is now open.
Summer Campus Closures
Many campuses are closed for part of the summer. Please check with your home campus for
summer hours.
Information about Campus changes:
We are pleased to announce that we have added 2 new nights of classes in the North Toronto
area. We have a new location to replace CNIB and have also secured a new location for
Willowdale. The new location for CNIB campus is a permanent location located at 109
Vanderhoof Ave. The locations to replace St. Elizabeth are Cummer Avenue United Church
and Forest Grove United Church. Please go to the Spirit of Math website, locations for
schedules.
Spirit of Math Headquarters
101-1446 Don Mills Rd, Toronto, ON M3B 3N6
1-866-SMS-MATH (767-6284)
[email protected]
www.spiritofmath.com
STAY CONNECTED