This week's Student of the Week is Parastesh S. I love this photo of us, recreating the Mastermind cover (on the right of the photo). Kudos to the photographer, Ryan O!!

I have taught Parastesh all five years (including two classes last year) and one thing that has never wavered is her ENTHUSIASM!! Sometimes, when she was in grade 8, and she'd come to my class after school (almost every day) with her great buddy at the time, it was almost TOO much. SO EXCITED!! SO LOUD! SO RANDOM (half the time I didn't know what they were even squealing about)! They'd arrive around 3:10 and each be telling competing stories at the same time, interrupting each other, changing the stories completely, etc and suddenly, around 3:30, they would disappear... and a total silence would fall over my classroom. I'd sit there feeling a bit worn out, like a giant storm had just passed.

But you can't help but love Parastesh. She's ALWAYS so good-natured, so positive (the sort of person that when she complains about stuff it seems like she is joking), and so kind. She has given me many compliments over the years and I am thankful for every one!

Parastesh reinvented herself as a Math student over the past five years. In grade 8 and 9 (and even grade 10) she did next to no homework. I'd try to urge her to do so and she would always laugh and say "I don't do homework". But in grade 11 something happened (it may have had something to do with her mom laying down the law) and she suddenly became a math-homework-completion fiend... in TWO math courses no less (PreCalculus 11 AND Foundations 11). I now consider her a very capable AND a very DILIGENT Math student. Way to go, P.S.!!

It's been so fun to teach you, Parastesh. May you never lose your GIANT personality, your incredible sense of humour, and your wonderful smile. Thanks for all the good laughs we have shared. I wish you nothing but the best in the years ahead. Love ya!

The 19-game “Jeopardy!” winning streak of Jason Zuffranieri ended with Thursday’s telecast.
Zuffranieri, a math teacher from Albuquerque, N.M., came in second on the show with $19,500. Gabe Brison-Trezise, a researcher from Washington, D.C., won with $22,400.
In his 19 victories, Zuffranieri earned $532,496 in prize money.

There is an infection of software in pure mathematics. Some of the heavyweight intellects of the field, renowned for their self-reliance, are starting to turn to software to help them understand and verify proofs.
Kevin Buzzard, a number theorist and professor of pure mathematics at Imperial College London, believes that it is time to create a new area of mathematics dedicated to the computerization of proofs. The greatest proofs have become so complex that practically no human on earth can understand all of their details, let alone verify them. He fears that many proofs widely considered to be true are wrong. Help is needed.

This week's Student of the week is Jade F. Thanks for the photo, Maria!!

Every moment with Jade in my class has been a pure delight... well, except for one! One day in grade 10 (or 9? Did I teach you Math 9, JF?), I saw that she had her phone out when she wasn't supposed to. I asked her to put it away and she did. But then a couple of minutes later she had it out again. I told her again to put it away and when she hesitated a bit I said something like "right now, Jade". She gave me this look which I will never forget. It was kind of scary. I thought she might hurt me. hehehe

But that was the one and only time! Besides that it has been nothing but love and smiles and laughs (though she does continually make fun of my French whenever I try to practice around her. Who can say "écureuil" properly anyway?)

One of the sweetest things about Jade is the affection she has for her little brother (the fantastic Tom). It's so nice to hear her talk about him and how much she loves spending time with him. Gotta love siblings who appreciate one another!

There are so many things I will always remember about Jade: her extensive leather coat collection, her love of Billy Joel, her frustration with her father for making her late on occasion, her constant presence in the front row of my classroom, her clear preference for all things French (like every other French person on the planet), her determination and her poise and her kindness.

Thanks for being such a special student, Jade. We have shared so many good chats together. Lots of laughs and even a few tears. You were so kind to me when my dad passed away and I will always be grateful to you for that. I feel very blessed to have taught you these past few years and I know that GREAT things await you in the future. Love ya, JF!!

Andrew Booker at Bristol University, UK, and Andrew Sutherland at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have found a big solution to a maths problem known as the sum of three cubes.
The problem asks whether any integer, or whole number, can be represented as the sum of three cubed numbers.

There were already two known solutions for the number 3, both of which involve small numbers: 13 + 13 + 13 and 43 + 43 + (-5)3.
But mathematicians have been searching for a third for decades. The solution that Booker and Sutherland found is:
(569936821221962380720)^3 + (-569936821113563493509)^3 + (-472715493453327032)^3 = 3


Read more: https://www.newscientist.com/article/2216941-mathematicians-find-a-completely-new-way-to-write-the-number-3/#ixzz601ujDrZB

This week's Student of the Week is Yuri F! (apologies to Margot B who was actually the first grade 12 pulled out of the Famous White Bag. Sorry, Margot, but grade 8 was a long time ago. I need to "get to know you again" before I write about you).

(also: does anyone have a good picture of Yuri that you could send me? Love to post it here. I'll give you credit!)

I believe that I have taught Yuri all five years of high school. And I doubt I have had a single problem with him in all those years. He is such an affable, polite, and hard-working guy. One of the things i love about Yuri is his insistence on having complete understanding of the work we are studying. Many times he has come to see me (or sent me an email the night before a test) to ask how to do "this question. And also this one. And just one more". With a work ethic like that, it is no wonder that he has always done so well in my Math class.

Yuri has rocked some pretty nice outfits over the years. Collared shirts. A sweater every now and then. I believe I've even seen him wearing dress shoes a couple times. You're looking good, Y.F.!!

It goes without say that I am a big fan of Yuri. And I'm not the only one. I have heard several of his classmates speak fondly of Yuri over the years (I won't mention any names here). I think we all admire the same things about Yuri: his kindness, his gentle nature, and... admit it... his awesome name! YURI FUJI!! YES!!

It's been such a pleasure to teach you, Yuri! I wish you all the best in your grade 12 year and in the years ahead too. I know that great things await you in the future!