If you have any questions concerning registrations or contest questionnaires from previous years please call 514 626-4406.

The complete solutions of the preparatory tests are now available.

Dear Sir / Madam,

The Mathematics Contest Centre is pleased to inform you that we are offering the students of your school the opportunity to participate in our contests again this year. Your students may be registered in seven different contests: the Thales (grade 3), Byron-Germain (grade 4), Fibonacci (grade 5), Pythagoras (grade 6), Euler (grade 7), Lagrange (grade 8), and Newton (grade 9) Contests. These contests will be written on April 14 , 2010. Since 1990, approximately 800 000 students across Canada have participated in our contests and it is our hope that your students will again participate this year.

A few years ago, UNESCO declared that the learning of mathematics, which is centred on problem resolution activities, is the most efficient way for a person to develop lasting mathematical skills and is one the best ways of meeting the challenges of the workplace in the 21 st century. Problem resolution is at the heart of our contests and represents a powerful motivational tool that can help promote mathematical ability. The student understands that problem resolution is not an abstract exercise that has little or no connection to real life, but is a useful undertaking that helps him solve many problems that arise in real-life situations.

At the heart of our contests is the preparatory test (a shorter practice test which is posted on our website). The preparatory test serves 3 important functions:

Firstly : it defines the material of the students' curriculum that he or she must know to adequately prepare for the contest itself. It also defines the types of problems that will appear in the actual contest (the answers and the detailed solutions for the preparatory test will be posted in February on our website). Teachers should know that the curriculum taught varies from province to province. By means of the preparatory test, we ensure that the students of one province will not be favoured over the students of another.

Secondly : the material covered, the terms used, and the wording of the problems in the contest itself are the same as those used in the preparatory test. The students therefore can understand the meaning of each question in the actual contest and any ambiguity that might arise otherwise can be eliminated.

Thirdly : by resolving and understanding every aspect of the preparatory test, the student knows that he is preparing for the contest itself. The preparatory test is therefore a source of great motivation; students and their teachers try to imagine the problems in the actual contest that could be created from those in the preparatory test.

We hope that these contests will encourage all of your students to further develop their problem resolution skills. We look forward to your participation.