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Read Our Mail!
Bear Branch Elementary School
(January, 2007) January 11, 2008 Wow! I had my three classes get on First In Math yesterday. It was incredible. We had a wonderful time. My lowest special ed student had a delightful experience. When he got his first "You're hot" message--he turned to me and yelled, "I'm hot!" Then he said, "I think I can manage this myself." It was so great. Ê My Gifted-Talented students were really into it. They took their ID's and passwords home and went for it. They added many stickers over the evening. When the Scrabble club arrived at 7:30 am, they were all abuzz about First In Math. I am so amazed at the interest level for all students. Ê I am thankful for the opportunity to have my students experience this. I brought my principal down and showed her the students while they were on the program. She is seeing and feeling the experience with the students. From an enthusiastic First in Math teacher.... Terri Goyins September 27, 2007 Allowing teachers to play is one of the best things you have done. It actually gives teachers a chance to see what it takes to go through the different modules and the thinking process their students are going through in order to solve the problems. Kudos to the Suntex team!Ê Well, here I am with stacks of papers to grade and what am I doing? I am doing First in Math. My common sense tells me to grade papers, but that little "FIM" bug inside of my brain is taking over and keeps telling me "just one more game"! Sincerely, Sheri Galbreath November, 10, 2006 I love the changes (additions, actually) that you've made for this year!! Everything I wanted on the teacher page is there!! A way to track incentives given for all the games! And great new games! (I love Deep Sea-Quence! I think that will get them early experience with a very important skill) Thank you, thank you, thank you. You guys are the bomb! March 24, 2006 Goodnoe Elementary School Dear Bob, Monday's First In Math celebration was a success for Goodnoe School. I'm glad I was able to share this special event with you. The First In Math program has been incredible for all of our fourth and fifth graders. First In Math has truly touched all of our students, from those with mathematical talent to those with special needs. In addition, the First In Math program has been a win/win for parents, school, business and community. Congressman Fitzpatrick and Verizon's willingness to support this program helped us to get where we are. Our parents and PTO group have also fully embraced this mathematical program. Suntex's and your efforts are greatly appreciated in making such a memorable and meaningful mathematical experience for our students. Thanks also to everyone for all of those special touches from the awards to the lanyards. Just check our latest sticker counts to see what a motivator Monday's celebration was. Rebecca also hit that 10,000 sticker count!!! It is my pleasure to be working with Suntex and its great employees. Monday was one Mathematical Moment I will always cherish. Thanks!! Sincerely, Charyl Kerns Hills June 6, 2005 Fountain Hill Elementary School Dear Mr. Sun: On behalf of the Fountain Hill Elementary School staff and students, we would like to thank you for the awards ceremony that you held for us on Thursday, June 2. We appreciate the time you took to come and spend the afternoon with us to honor the achievements of our students in your First In Math¨ program. We are also appreciative of the resources and effort you devoted to this ceremony. Finally, we would like to thank you for inviting our School District guests and the local media to join us, so that they too could recognize and honor the achievements of our students. This letter of thanks is not written just as perfunctory courtesy, but because of what we saw in the faces of the students as they left school on Thursday afternoon. They wore their medals with pride as their classmates looked on them with admiration and indeed shared in the pride of their achievements. Throughout the dismissal areas there were clusters of students gathered around the medal winners examining, touching, admiring the medals and their winners. As a public school, we have a mission to bring our students the best educational opportunities we are capable of providing. We feel an even stronger sense of commitment to this mission because of the diverse and often disadvantaged backgrounds from which many of our students come. We thank Suntex for the support they have provided to us in this mission and hope that we can continue the symbiosis of this relationship. Sincerely, Rene Rawhouser Joseph G. Rahs April 27, 2005 I am sure you would be pleased to know how successful the First in Math Online Program has been in the Solon City Schools. We are using First in Math in all five of our elementary buildings and every student in Grades 3-7 has a User ID and Password. This incorporates 81 classroom teams and almost 2000 students. These students have earned over 1,100,000 stickers this year! Our school district has been pleased with the high level of participation and family support of First in Math. With this level of involvement, we have seen improving success with classroom math performance. We expect to see a high percentage of our students at proficient or advanced levels on the Ohio proficiency/achievement tests that were administered in March. The First in Math Program is very motivating to students because of the immediate feedback, the knowledge that they are collecting Òelectronic stickersÓ and the team aspect of the program. Students have benefited because this program allows them to work at their own pace and at a level that is appropriate for them. Our teachers try to differentiate instruction to meet individual student needs and this program helps them to accomplish that in the area of practice with basic math facts. Students have also found greater motivation for math because this program is so engaging and helps to build their confidence. Teachers like the First in Math Program because it is an excellent complement to our math textbook series. It provides that important drill and practice for basic facts. But teachers also appreciate the fact that this program gives them immediate updates on student progress. Teachers know how many stickers each child has earned and how they are progressing through the skill sets. We have found the First in Math web site to be of very high quality too. Many students can play at once without any difficulty. Students receive encouraging messages to keep trying and feel confident that their sticker totals are correct. Parents and teachers appreciate the protection of student identity. In addition, I have found your telephone and e-mail support staff to be easily accessible and very helpful with any questions. I would definitely encourage other school districts to take advantage of the First of Math Program. Sincerely, April 22, 2005 I am writing to let you know how pleased I am with the success of your First In Math program in our district. For the past three years it has played an important part in helping increase the number of students in the district who are performing at the advanced or proficient levels as measured by the Pennsylvania state mathematics tests (PSSA). The program is easy to set up, use and monitor. Teachers like it because all of the recordkeeping is done for them and because students can proceed at their own pace and level. It allows all students to be challenged at an appropriate level of difficulty, making it a perfect tool for differentiation. Gifted students are able to be challenged at higher and higher levels of sophisticated mathematical thinking. Many students are exposed to concepts such as algebraic variables or operations with fractions long before these are formally introduced in class. Many students in Pennridge met success with challenges well above their grade level such as the 3rd grade students who are now working in the 7th and 8th grade levels of the program. This was due to the way the First In Math program was set up, where students moved through the levels based on both their effort and their ability. Providing a team format enabled students of all ability levels to contribute to the success of their teamÕs scores. I would highly recommend this program for any district. Yours sincerely, Wayne S. Watson, Supervisor of Mathematics Kimpton Middle School 380 North River Road Munroe Falls, Ohio 44262 Phil Martucci, Ph. D.,
Principal February 20, 2004 Re: First in Math I have received some statistics of student performance on math assessment (IAAT) administered during January 2004, to all 8th graders in pre algebra classes at Kimpton Middle School in the Stow-Munroe Falls School District. Overall the scores are higher in many cases than they have been in the past 6 years. The only change in curriculum materials prevalent with this group of students is the First in Math computer online game. Today two of our 8th grade teachers summarized the results of the studentsÕ scores to me in a meeting stating that students playing First in Math are not afraid to compute and or calculate without a calculator and therefore they are more successful in a testing situation. These students are making connections and the IAAT (algebra aptitude) scores are increasing dramatically. The overall 8th grade performance has remarkably improved. We attribute this to the two school years that our students have been able to access First in Math, both in the classroom and online, when away from the school building. On a side note Ð the factoring gym is a favorite of our students! They love it. Thank you again for providing this fun and engaging academic activity for Kimpton students. Sincerely, Dorene Ellis, Phil Martucci, Ph. D. April 27, 2005 Once again your 24 Math materials have captivated our students here at Georgetown Day School in Washington DC. We have been using your 96 card boxed games for over twelve years. For the past ten years, our third grade classes have continued to use your Jumping Levels Program to motivate our children to practice math facts on a daily basis at home, to prepare for their in-class ÒjumpÓ each week. Parents continue to respond enthusiastically for this program. Last winter, we embraced your online program, First in Math¨. We enrolled every child in grades 2 through 5, initiated them in how to use the program, communicated to our parents via letters, and sat back and watched magic take place. Our goal was to provide our students with an at-home way to practice basic math facts in a highly motivating way. We hoped our kids would maintain high interest and motivation for this task, which normally becomes drudgery in quick time. First in Math¨ has captivated our students. Their self-motivation to devote time on task virtually insures success for every type of learner. What we did not anticipate happening, was that our most talented math students persisted with new concepts and higher levels of game play, forging ahead and basically taught themselves patterns and skills needed to problem solve well above their grade level in school. But children at all levels of math understanding and mastery are successful with this program, because of the programÕs self-pacing design. We also love how your tracking systems allow our teachers to monitor studentÕs progress. The student conversation buzz heard in our hallways on a daily basis pertains to their progress through the various levels of play. And on any given afternoon, parents can be overheard raving about First in Math¨ during their carpool conversations. No child will be left behind in mathematics, if introduced to this program and provided the opportunity to make use of First in Math¨ on a regular basis, whether at home or in school. Best regards, Mary Lou Berres It gives me great pleasure to write to you concerning our school's success in the First In Math¨ Program. Last year, I was the only eighth grade teacher at John F. Reynolds, with a class enrollment of 36 students. With such a large group, it was important for me to have varied diagnostic tools, as well as an accurate way to pinpoint the skills of my students. First In Math provided me with these, and much more. Our school district made a wise investment when they purchased the program for all of the students. When I received my packet I was no more familiar with the computerized program than the children in my class. I wondered if the technological version would differ from the concrete examples we were used to. I must admit that I chuckled at our team's name (typhoon4pa), and we began our First In Math journey. Because we seemed to have started after most schools, I was a little anxious about "catching up." I realized that individual growth/progress was paramount, but because team rankings were always posted, I wanted my students to have a sense of pride. I always stressed to them that they had the same abilities and potential as students from other schools. The fact that the results were publicized in an expeditious manner was a motivating factor for the children in my class, because it helped them to see fairness in the system. One major concern that I had as an educator was that the vast majority of my students had no computers (internet access) at home, so they had to depend on school computer use, which, as a class, was basically one period, one day per week. The few participants who had computers made good use of them. Others utilized the one of the two we had in the room, by coming in early and staying after school. Success was steady. A healthy competition
started to develop class- and school-wide. Soon "bragging rights" were earned.
More importantly, I began to understand the focus of each skill level,
which helped me to clearly see the math strengths and
weaknesses of each of my students. Just by saying, "Skill Set¨ 7,
Game 2," I knew that a student was working with integers. Moreover,
each student developed a keen awareness of himself as a learner. They
started to understand the concepts they Students began to notice the progress of certain individuals and schools outside of Reynolds. We felt like we were a part of a culture of successful teams who may never have met, but were quite aware and respectful of each other. I became increasingly aware of schools in our district, system and state. Our principal was excited about our progress and greatly encouraged the students. Additionally, our growth showed us that we indeed were playersÑcontendersÑwho had challenged ourselves personally and collectively at Reynolds. When it was time for the PSSA, we put our best foot forward and tasted the sweetness of AYP (a 27.6% increase!). These students, through the creativity of First In Math, proved what I had always known about them. What a marvelous testimony! With all the progress my eighth graders made during the 2003-2004 school year, I will forever be grateful for the opportunity to witness my students become engaged by your program. They left a great legacy to our school. This year, with fewer students in my room (20), I am still having a wonderful time. Because I truly understand the program, I can help my "madras7pa" team set loftier goals, and challenge themselves more. Our new principal, through daily reports and announcements, supports and encourages all Reynolds students in their endeavors. Thank you, Suntex International, Inc., for your First In Math Program. Mrs. Cathy Hensford Northmont Elementary School I have been actively involved implementing the First In Math online program in our school for the past two years. In my thirty-five years of teaching, First In Math is, without a doubt, the most outstanding math program I have ever used with my students. It is challenging, motivating, aligned with rigorous state and national math standards, and, most importantly, has changed the way our students feel about math. With heartfelt thanks to you and the team at Suntex, NorthmontÕs students are excited about math! We have implemented First In Math in thirteen classrooms this year, and all second through fifth graders have been involved in the program. Since I inserviced all of our teachers and introduced First In Math in all of the classrooms, whenever I walk anywhere in the school, there are always children coming up to me and telling me all about their progress. Today, a little second grader came up to me and excitedly told me all about how many stickers he had earned. Students at Northmont talk about math! Both my principal, Jackie Chagala, and I have had countless parents tell us how wonderful the program is and many go on to tell us that they never thought they would see the day that their children would rather go online to work on math rather than watch television! Throughout the past year, just when I thought First In Math couldnÕt possibly get any better, you have added another dimension and another challenge for our students. Every time a new task is added, the students canÕt wait to Òjump aboardÓ and meet the next challenge. They love earning stickers, trying for their personal best, and the rankings really motivate them. They proudly take their certificates home and share them with their families. The numerous student assessments for the teacher are a wonderful way for us to have a complete picture of each studentÕs progress, as well as that of the entire class. You are consistently adding excellent tools for the teacher to use. When our school was in the running for the California ÒDistinguished School AwardÓ this past spring, an important part of our written application was devoted to our implementation of First In Math in the thirteen classrooms. When the evaluation team visited our school site, they met with students, teachers and parents. In the parent meeting, parents were asked what kind of program had the most significant effect upon learning. I was told that many immediately answered, ÒFirst In Math.Ó When one of the interviewers observed in my classroom, she talked to one of my students who told her that when she began the school year, she didnÕt like math at all, but now, with First In Math, it was her favorite subject. She is now ranked the number one player in our school. We all feel that the excitement and learning that is taking place in the First In Math program had a positive influence in enabling us to become a California Distinguished School. Bob, you canÕt begin to imagine how many childrenÕs lives you and your staff have influenced, along with the development of a love for mathematics through their experiences with First In Math. The program has been instrumental in fostering an enthusiasm for learning and a belief in the ability to succeed, and our entire staff and school community want to thank you for enabling us to become a part of the First In Math team. Our first graders canÕt wait to become team members for the first time next year as second graders. We look forward to another great year with Suntex! Sincerely, Sheri Galbreath
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"I've
seen significant impact on math and problem-solving skills among my 3rd
graders with First in Math. One of my students was accurately teaching
the others in the classroom about square roots before I covered it in
my curriculum! His understanding wasn't from explicit instruction; it
was from solving problems in First in Math."
ÒIÕm
overwhelmed by the enthusiastic response from my students and their parents.
My students have never been more excited about math, and I am extremely
grateful for that!Ó
ÒWhen you focus on math basics like multiplication, division,
critical thinking, you lay the building blocks for future excellence
in all areas of mathematics.Ó
"Something
like the First In Math program really gives students confidence, they
believe in their academic abilities. They know that they are good in
math, and they love itÑthey really are inspired.Ó
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Educators, we'd love to hear your First In Math¨ success stories! To submit a letter to FIM, CLICK HERE Please include your name, email address and school name. All submissions become the Property of Suntex Int. Inc., and may be edited for length. |
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© 2008 Suntex International, Inc. All rights reserved.
24®, 24 Challenge®, Skill Set® and First In Math® are
registered trademarks of Suntex International, Inc. |
