Two thousand and five was yet another memorable year for the Mathematics Trainers' Guild (MTG). And it's just fitting, since this was, after all, the year that the guild celebrated its tenth anniversary.

Between the new milestones it reached and the overwhelming performances of its students in the international arena, the MTG sure had a lot of success stories to tell from the past twelve months. However, the MTG had its own share of unfortunate stories as well, among which is the painful loss of one of its pioneer members, Mr. Benson Tan.

Now with that said, let's take a look back at the year that was, and recall (what in this writer's opinion are) the most significant events that the MTG encountered during that time.


12. Class 2005 MTG Kids Win Honorable Mention Awards in IMO

The class of MTG Kids who graduated from high school this year has got to be one of the strongest MTG batches ever. And they proved it in no less than in the world's longest-running and most prestigious international mathematics competition.

Last August, 6 MTG Kids were selected to form the Philippine contingent to the 46th International Mathematics Olympiad (IMO) in Yucatan, Mexico. Of these, 4 were from Class 2005. And 3 of them, namely Charles William Ang, John Garret Go, and Jon Henri Ma - all freshmen from Ateneo de Manila - took home Honorable Mention awards, en route to one of the strongest Philippine performances in this competition ever.


11. MTG Kids Participate in Unique Encounter with Ateneo Counterparts

Last February saw 29 MTG Kids competing in an entirely new arena. Instead of going toe-to-toe against students from other countries somewhere abroad, they instead saw themselves duking it out against their counterparts from somewhere much closer - in the Ateneo de Manila.

The Ateneo, with its own mathematics enrichment program, wanted to benchmark its progress, and so it invited the MTG to be a guest participant to the 3rd Ateneo Mathematics Olympiad (AMO). Previously just a school-wide contest, the AMO presented an new challenge to the MTG Kids with its unique format, which is patterned after the IMO. But in the end, the MTG Kids still prevailed, as they went on to capture 10 out of the 15 contested medals, including the gold medals in 4 out of the 5 levels. Winning the gold for the MTG were: Carmela Antoinette Lao (then Gr. 4, St. Jude Catholic School), Carlo Francisco Adajar (then Gr. 7, Southridge School), Nellie Margaret Chua (then 2nd yr., Chiang Kai Shek College) and Charles Ang (then 4th yr., Chiang Kai Shek).


10. MTG Kids Bag Highest Team Performance in Po Leung Kuk

Ever since its inception in 1997, the Po Leung Kuk Primary Mathematics World Competition (PMWC) has been one of the competitions that the MTG has participated in every year. It is considered to be one of the most prestigious international math competitions at the primary level, and is one where the country has had a rich winning tradition.

This year was no exception, as the 16-member squad brought home a haul of one 2nd Honors and six 3rd Honors certificates for the individual competition; and a 1st Runner-up and Merit trophy for the team competition. Team Metro Manila bagged the 1st runner-up trophy after finishing second in its bracket in the team competition, the highest that a Philippine team has ever placed in this event. Comprising this team were: Carmela Lao (Gr. 5), Aileen Giselle Chua (1st yr., Grace Christian High School) Aldric Cristoval Reyes (Gr. 6, Chiang Kai Shek), and Vance Mikhail Uy (1st yr., St. Jude). Lao also went home with the 2nd Honors certificate in the individual event, making her the first Filipino to achieve that feat in as early as grade 5.


9. MTG Kids Win Super Relay Competition in ARML

Expectations aren't really that high whenever the MTG competes in the American Regions Mathematics League (ARML) every year. After all, it is the premier mathematics competition in the United States, so the competition is really tough. But in this year's competition, held last June in San Jose, California, the 15-member Philippine team pulled of a very stunning upset victory in one of the ARML's five events.

Against more than a hundred mostly American teams, our wards finished first in the Super Relay competition. It was just unfortunate that according to ARML rules, due to logistical reasons, a team's performance in the Super Relay does not count toward their over-all score. As a result, the Philippines had to rely on its performance in the other events to finish 44th out of the 68 teams in its division - already respectable given the quality of opposition. In addition to the Super Relay victory, 4 MTG Kids earned top-scorer honors in the individual round. They were: Ana Patricia Miravite (3rd yr., Philippine Science High School), Alvin Belleza (4th yr., Ateneo), Calvin Bernard Lim (4th yr., St. Stephen's High School), and Austin Pua (4th yr., Uno High School).


8. Philippines bag largest medal haul in AMC; First-ever Perfect Scorers Awarded

The Australian Mathematics Competition (AMC) is the largest international correspondence-type math competition in the world, participated in annually by more than 500,000 students from Australia and the Asia Pacific region. Of these, only around 50 get to be bestowed upon the honor of receiving the coveted AMC medal.

In this year's contest held last August, 4 MTG Kids were able to achieve medal status, making this the country's biggest medal haul ever in this contest. The first 3 medals came from Marquis Alexander Tan (Gr. 7, Xavier School), Stephanie Anne Oliveros (2nd yr., Philippine Science), and Emmanuel Lance Christopher Plan VI (4th yr., Ateneo). The fourth medal meanwhile, came from John Bernard Ong (Gr. 8, Long Bay College), who was representing New Zealand. Ong's victory allowed the Philippines to have 4 AMC medallists, circumventing the AMC rules provision, which prohibit any one zone (the Philippines count as one) from having more than 3 medallists.

In addition to the medallists, the Philippines also had its first BH Neumann Certificate awardees ever, courtesy of our participants in the elementary level. The Certificate, awarded to only those who achieved a perfect score in the AMC, was awarded to Aldric Reyes, Amiel Sy (Gr. 5, of Jubilee Christian Academy), Immanuel Encarnacion (Gr. 6, Colegio San Agustin Binan). Aside from these achievements, 19 MTG Kids also placed within the top 1% of all the AMC participants.


7. MTG Remembers Mr. Tan; Temporarily Parts Ways with Mrs. Hipolito

In 2005, the MTG saw two of its trainers, who have been teaching since the early years of the guild, leave. Though one seems to be only temporary, the other, sadly, is permanent.

Last March, in between the In-House Training Program for high school and the one for elementary, the whole MTG family was shocked to learn about the death of one of its pioneer members, Mr. Benson Tan. Mr. Tan taught in the first few MTG batches and was an active member of the guild. He was a funny teacher, and was well-loved by his students, making his loss very tragic. The MTG will surely miss him.

Then months later, another well-loved trainer, MTG Treasurer Mrs. Sanet Hipolito, parted ways with the guild, but this time to pursue greener pastures abroad. She left for the United States last August to pursue a teaching career there. Just like Mr. Tan, Mrs. Hipolito is a pioneer member of the guild and has been very active ever since. She was also a team leader of the Philippine delegation in some international competitions, the last one being the 9th PMWC in Hong Kong. But fortunately, her stay there seems to be only temporary, and so the MTG will be waiting with open arms when she returns to the fold (she actually visited here last Christmas vacation) .


6. MTG Kids Win 1st Place in Calculation Skills in China Math Olympiad

It was the third time within a span of 3 months that the triumvirate of Aileen Chua, Carmela Lao, and Vance Uy competed together in the same team. And for the third time, they ended up breaking a record for the best performance by a Philippine team in an international contest.

Last August, the team of 3 bagged 1st place among 180 teams in the Calculation Skills competition of the China Primary Schools Mathematics Olympiad (CPMO). Their victory top-billed the list of achievements that the country earned from this event, which consists of: four 1st Honors, seven 2nd Honors, and thirty 3rd Honors certificates in Calculation Skills; and fourteen 2nd Honors and twenty-eight 3rd Hoors certificates in Problem Solving. Ervin Frederick Dy (1st yr., St. Stephen's High School) joined Chua, Lao, and Uy as the 1st Honors recipients in the Calculation Skills event.


5. Famed Chinese Professor Trains MTG Kids Over the Summer

To prepare the high school MTG Kids for a tough contest calendar in 2005, the MTG brought in outside help in the form of Dr. Gangsong Leng - a famed math professor at both the Shanghai University and the Hunan Normal University in China. Dr. Leng facilitated the MTG Mathematical Olympiad Summer Training Program in Zamboanga City, training 23 of the best MTG Kids from the secondary level for one month.

This was actually the second straight summer that Dr. Leng visited the country and conducted a special training in Zamboanga. And just like the first time around, the hard work and dedication that he exerted bore fruit, in the form of the numerous achievements that the high school MTG Kids have won in international contests like the Asian Intercities Teenagers' Mathematical Olympiad, the Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Olympiad, and the China Mathematics Olympiad for Girls.


4. MTG-DOST-SEI Holds Math Conference; International Mathematicians among Speakers

It was one the MTG's greatest accomplishments outside of performing well in an international competition. A joint project of the MTG and the Department of Science and Technology - Science Education Institute, the MTG-DOST-SEI Mathematics Conference gathered 10 well-known mathematicians from here and abroad, to talk about various math topics, mostly centered around education, to our local elementary and high school educators.

Nearly 300 teachers from around the country flocked to the Bayview Resort last October to experience this unique opportunity. There, they were blown away by the lectures of the likes of Dr. Peter James Taylor, Professor Wen-Hsien Sun, and our very own Queena Lee Chua, as they shared, among others, the methods and techniques that they employ in motivating their students to learn and enjoy math. It was really a unique treat for the attendees and they are absolutely looking forward to seeing more of these conferences being held in the future.


3. MTG President Dr. Chua Wins Prestigious International Award from WFNMC

With what the MTG has accomplished within its 10-year history, it was apparent that MTG President Dr. Simon L. Chua was due a special award someday. And true enough, it came last October, when Dr. Chua was adjudged to be a recipient of the Paul Erdos Award for 2006 by the World Federation of National Mathematics Competitions (WFNMC).

Dr. Chua became the first Filipino to receive such honor, given to mathematicians who made great contributions to math education through competitions. He, along with two fellow awardees from other parts of the world, would be receiving the award in the 5th WFNMC Conference in London England, in July next year.


2. Philippines Successfully Hosts PEMIC and AITMO; Bags 2nd Over-all in PEMIC

It was only the second time that the Philippines hosted an international mathematics competition. As well, it was one of the rare times in which a country hosted not one, but two such events at the same time. Last May, nearly 300 math wizards from 11 countries converged in Tagbilaran City, Bohol, for the simultaneous staging of the Philippine Elementary Mathematics International Contest (PEMIC) and the Asian Intercities Teenagers' Mathematical Olympiad (AITMO).

The Philippine contingent, which was more than 100 members strong, achieved great success in both competitions. In the PEMIC, the team representing Metro Manila bagged 2nd place over-all among the field of 42 teams. This was on top of the country's over-all haul of 6 gold medals, 15 silver, 18 bronze, and 20 merit awards for the individual competition; and 2 gold, 7 silver, and 7 bronze medals for the team competition. Team Metro Manila was composed of Carmela Lao, Aileen Chua (then Gr. 6), Vance Uy (then Gr. 6), and Dann Julius Tan (then Gr. 6, Chiang Kai Shek). Chua was among the 6 individual gold medallists, along with Aldric Reyes, Marquis Tan, Earl John Chua (then Gr. 6, Grace Christian), Rafael Perea (then Gr. 6, Camarin Elementary School), and John Francis Simeon (then Gr. 6, Aurora Quezon Elementary School). Then, Metro Manila also got a gold in the team competition, along with Team Dagupan, composed of Perea, Simeon, Victorio Vicher (then Gr. 6, San Antonio Elementary School), and Kevin Yambao (then Gr. 6, Pateros Elementary School).

Meanwhile in the AITMO, though the teams from China dominated the over-all standings, the Philippine delegation still reaped major awards. In the individual contest, the country bagged 2 gold medals, 5 silver, 11 bronze, and 26 merit awards. Then in the team contest, the country earned one gold, 2 silver, and 4 bronze medals. The individual gold medals came courtesy of Jon Ma (then 4th yr., Trinity Christian School) and Chiara Rosario Lanuza (then 1st yr., Philippine Science). The lone team gold medal was earned by Team Cebu, consisting of Ma, Alvin Belleza (then 3rd yr.), Emmanuel Plan (then 3rd yr.), and Kyna Elyse Cheu (then 3rd yr.. Sacred Heart School - Jesuit).


1. MTG Celebrates 10th Anniversary

Many of the events organized by the MTG for 2005 (PEMIC, the MTG Math Conference, etc.) were done in line with the guild's 10th anniversary this year. The success of these events, along with the MTG's incredible run in international competitions, all the more made the momentous occasion very special.

And to cap all these successes, The MTG held a special dinner celebration last October 21 at the Century Seafood Restaurant in Manila. This event was attended by MTG Kids from past and present, along with the MTG trainers, officers, parents, and basically all of those who were part of the MTG family during its ten-year existence. Among the guests of honor were the international mathematicians who were lecturing in the MTG-DOST-SEI Math Conference held during the same week-end.

This event commemorated not only the MTG's recent successes, but also everything else that was accomplished during its decade-long existence. It also marked the MTG's new age, as the new guild logo was finally unveiled. And since this event encompasses many of the other entries mentioned here, it is just fitting that the MTG's 10th anniversary celebration winds up as the most significant MTG event in 2005.