DODEA Pacific Director Diana Ohman opens the 2011 Far East Mathematicafest with an address to students and teachers from DODEA schools in Guam, Japan, Okinawa and South Korea. (Charly Hoff/Courtesy of DODEA)
DODEA Pacific Director Diana Ohman opens the 2011 Far East Mathematicafest with an address to students and teachers from DODEA schools in Guam, Japan, Okinawa and South Korea. (Charly Hoff/Courtesy of DODEA)
Mathematician and Principal Investigator with the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology's Mathematical Biology Unit Dr. Robert Sinclair discusses the golden ratio and other math concepts with DODEA Pacific students. (Charly Hoff/Courtesy of DODEA)
Jackie Pope, a Mathematics teacher from Kubasaki High School in Okinawa, grades students on their final presentations Thursday at MathematicaFest 2011 in Onna Village, Okinawa. (Matt Orr/Stars and Stripes)
From left to right, Tyler Stanley from Guam High School, Andrew Baac from Zama High School, Rachel Poluhowich from E.J. King High School and Daye Kim from Seoul American High School give their final presentation to fellow students and teachers at the culmination of MathematicaFest 2011 in Onna Village, Okinawa. This was the second year of the conference. Fifty-seven students from all 12 DODEA high schools from around the Pacific attended. (Matt Orr/Stars and Stripes)
ONNA VILLAGE, Okinawa — Fifty-seven high school students from Pacific bases converged on the Kafuu Resort this week to talk and breathe mathematics.
The Far East MathematicaFest began Sunday afternoon and wrapped up Thursday with group presentations on the mathematical principle known as the golden ratio, the ratio of length to width in rectangles that is most aesthetically pleasing and is often observed in nature, art, and architecture.
“It’s really allowed students and teachers to step outside the regular academic curriculum that they otherwise would not be able to do,” said Amy Fines, a teacher from Sasebo Naval Base and co-director of the Department of Defense Education Activity event.
Over the course of the week, groups of students competed against each other in problem and puzzle solving and were judged on their final presentations by teachers.
“I have really enjoyed myself this week,” said Tyler Stanley, an 11th-grader from Guam High School. “I’ve learned a lot and it has been great being here with students of similar academic levels.”
For Yokota High School’s Tjaden Cornell, 17, the week was a true learning experience.
“Before coming here, I had no idea what the golden ratio was,” Cornell said.
