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. Since 1990, approximately 800 000 students across Canada have participated in our contests and it is our hope that your students will participate this year.

A few years ago, UNESCO declared that learning mathematics through problem resolution activities was the most efficient way for a person to develop lasting mathematical skills and one of the best ways to prepare students to meet the challenges of the future. With this in mind, we design contests that will challenge and promote the problem solving skills of all your students. Schools who wish to receive previous contest questionnaires with detailed solutions to help them prepare their students can order them by completing the appropriate section of the registration form (you will find enclosed free samples of previous questionnaires). To learn more about our educational mission, please go to www.mathematicacentrum.ca and read our homepage letter.

The Thales Contest (grade 3; 40 minutes; 25 questions), the Byron-Germain Contest (grade 4; 45 minutes; 30 questions), the Fibonacci Contest (grade 5; 60 minutes; 40 questions), the Pythagoras Contest (grade 6; 75 minutes; 50 questions), the Euler Contest (grade 7; 75 minutes; 35 questions), the Lagrange Contest (grade 8; 75 minutes; 40 questions), and the Newton Contest (grade 9; 75 minutes; 40 questions) will all be written on April 14, 2010. Please contact us if your school is closed on this date. For each contest, the students scoring over the national average will receive certificates of distinction, while all other students will receive certificates of participation. A medal (or medals) will be awarded to the champion(s) of each school. National plaques will be awarded to individual students and schools ranked in first, second, and third places in Canada. Provincial plaques will be awarded to both individual and school provincial champions (please read N.B. 2 on reverse side). A total cash prize of $100 will be granted to the Canadian champion(s) in each contest. As well, both national and provincial honour rolls for the best students and schools will be published online in June. All response forms are corrected at the Centre. The confidential results of your students, along with certificates and medals, will be mailed to the schools by the end of May while plaques will be mailed by June 10. This year, to celebrate our 20th anniversary, 50 schools will be chosen at random from the list of all schools participating in the 2010 contests and will be awarded gift certificates of $20 each applicable towards the following year’s registration fee. To register, you must complete the accompanying registration form and return it to the Mathematics Contest Centre before the deadline of December 23, 2009.

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