ORMC Entry PointsUCLA Olga Radko Endowed Math Circle (ORMC) has two programs, an academic-year-long and a Summer one. The Summer program is not open to the academic year students. It is meant to give children outside of our regular ranks a taste of the Math Circle culture. The beginning and end of every enrollment period is announced ahead of time at the top of the ORMC front page. We do not have mailing lists of prospective applicants to remind them about an upcoming enrollment. A person new to the Circle can only make an account when enrollment is open. BNP Classes (K-2)Our classes for youngest students are called BNP because they are based on the book Breaking Numbers into Parts. The book has two parts, both available on Amazon: Part 1, Part 2. We have two BNP classes every Summer for applicants attending grades 1-2 in the Fall. We do not get to the end of part 1 of the book by the end of the Summer classes. We start two academic-year-long BNP classes for students in grades K-1 in the Fall every two years. The reason is that the book takes a bit more than a year to cover in the ORMC format, nine 50-min-long classes per quarter, three quarters in a school year. A Summer program student can apply in the Fall. If enrolled, they can choose to either skip or review the lessons they have covered in the Summer. Admissions to both kinds of BNP classes are based on results of an assessment test. To pass the tests, an applicant must be able to read and understand word problems without external help. The best way to prepare for the test is to solve Math Kangaroo math competition problems for grades 1-2 from the years past. Beginners 1 Classes (grades 2-4)The second entry point to the academic year program is the Beginners 1 classes for children in grades 2-4. BNP students in good standing progress to the Beginners 1 level automatically. We also expand the A and B classes from 20 to 25 students each. This is where new students can enter the program. We also teach the Beginners 1 classes every Summer. Our program for grades 2-4 is based on the book Math Adventures with ORMC, Level 1, from Optical Illusions to Fighting Dragons. Both a Workbook for students and its Teacher's Companion are available on Amazon. If Spots Open UpPast the Beginners 1 level, we only get an opening in the academic year program, if someone drops out. Please note that a student can drop out at the BNP and Beginners 1 levels as well. In the case of such an opening, preference is given to applicants placed high on national math competitions:
With age, children begin to specialize. This brings down the enrollment pressure. We often have openings at the high school level, in our Advanced 1, 2, and 3 classes. Joining a class at one of these levels may be challenging for a student without prior training in advanced math. Summer ProgramThe Summer program is independent of the academic year program. We try to enroll as many applicants at every level, from BNP to Advanced, as we possibly can. The limiting factor is most often the number of instructors available in the Summer. If the number of applicants to a level exceeds the level's capacity, we give applicants an assessment test. Enrollment is then based on the test's results. Having an opening in the academic year program, we can invite an exceptionally strong Summer program student to join. Enrollment openingEnrollment opens before the beginning of every quarter. For example, UCLA Fall quarter starts at the end of September. Therefore, ORMC Fall quarter enrollment opens at the beginning of September and closes when the Fall quarter begins. Please see UCLA Academic Calendar for the dates: https://registrar.ucla.edu/calendars/annual-academic-calendar |
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