Math Manias in Tahsis and Port Renfrew

Math Mania in Tahsis

At the end of April 2013, a team of PIMS volunteers ventured to the remote community of Tahsis for a Math Mania event.  The team of four – Melania Alvarez, Sachiko Noguchi and Laura Cottle from Vancouver and David Leeming from Victoria- were responding to a long-standing invitation to present Math Mania at Captain Meares Elementary Secondary School (CMESS).  Captain Meares Elementary Secondary School is a small K- 12 school on the west coast of Vancouver Island. There are fourty-four students (K-12) at CMESS. All of the students in the school participated in Math Mania with the senior students presenting some of activities to the younger students.  For the event we were joined by twenty students from Gold River and twelve from the very remote community of Zeballos who came to Tahsis for Math Mania on a water taxi.  Members of the local community also participated.  We were given a warm welcome into the community and invited to return to CMESS as soon as possible.

Math Mania in Port Renfrew

On June 20, 2013, Melania Alvarez, Sachiko Noguchi and David Leeming put on a Math Mania event at the Community Health Centre of the Pacheedaht Nation in Port Renfrew. Situated at the mouth of the San Juan River on the west coast of Vancouver Island, Port Renfrew is a two-and-a-half hour drive from Victoria.  The community provided all Math Mania participants with a soup and sandwich supper followed by the Math Mania event.  Again, we trained local volunteers to help to present some of the activities.   All eight of the students (K-5) from Port Renfrew Elementary School participated in the Math Mania event along with a number of members of the Pacheedaht community.