|
 |
The TVMSC staff would like to welcome you to our homepage! We
encourage you to take a few minutes to look around the site and
see the programs we have to offer.
The faculty and staff of the Treasure Valley Mathematics and Science
Center are proud to be part of a valley-wide effort to provide
an exciting, innovative, and integrated mathematics and science
program to public, private, and home-school students across the
Boise metropolitan area. To schedule a visit to our campus, please
call our office. We'd love to have you stop by! |
News and
Upcoming Events
Please visit TVMSC's Calendar Page
For Important Dates and Events
for TVMSC's 2009 - 2010 School Year
|
|
Important
November Dates at TVMSC
TVMSC's Parent Teacher Conferences are
this week, on the afternoons of Tuesday, Nov. 3rd and Wednesday,
Nov. 4th. Beginning at 2:30 PM, we will place sign-up sheets
outside of each teacher's classroom. Parents are able to come
in beginning at 2:30 on the day of the conferences to
sign up for a time with each TVMSC teacher they wish to have a
conference with. You can sign up for a time close to when you
arrive to sign up or you can sign up for a time an hour or two
hours later. There is no preregistration
available prior to the days of the conferences. You
sign up as you arrive each day. The last conference time is
scheduled for 6:30 on each of these days.
Also... TVMSC has Salvation Army bins located in the TVMSC
hallway. There is ongoing need in our community, so we hope
to fill the two bins prior to Thanksgiving this year. If your
family is interested in supporting our effort to help out with
this project, please bring along a nonperishable item to drop
into the bins on the day of the conferences. (Thank you!)
If you do not wish to attend the conferences on either of
these days, please feel free to communicate with TVMSC's staff
via e-mail or phone. Alternate conference times can be
scheduled if your family has concerns or questions that you
would like to have addressed. Please contact one of your
child's teachers if you wish to request an
alternate conference time.
Posted November 3, 2009
|
|
Important
Partnership Update
It is with great
pleasure that TVMSC announces a new partnership with Boise State
University!
TVMSC's students who take
the Center's new 'Introduction to Engineering' course may
apply for Concurrent Credit with Boise State University for Fall
2009-10. This course meets the requirements for ENGR 120 within
BSU's College of Engineering (COEN).
In support of this course,
faculty of BSU's College of Engineering:
1. Will invite students in
the TVMSC class to the BSU campus to participate in relevant
events.
2. Will have BSU professors from each engineering departments
within the college visit the TVMSC class to provide an overview
of their discipline.
TVMSC's students who take
the Center's Discrete Mathematics course may also apply for
college credit. Discrete Math will carry Concurrent Credit
through Boise State University's Mathematics Department (Math
187).
These
classes are each 4 credits. BSU's registration deadline will be
October 9th. The procedure for registering to receive
college credit for either or both of these courses through Boise
State University will be explained at TVMSC's Back to School
Night/Open House on the evening of September 24th.
Posted September 17th, 2009 |
|
|
|
Commonly asked
questions about TVMSC
-
TVMSC is a school of choice
for public, private, charter or home schooled students from
throughout the Treasure Valley.
-
Students who attend TVMSC are
bused to and from their home schools in Boise and Meridian
Districts.
-
There is no tuition or cost associated with being a student in TVMSC. This is a public
school program that is offered within Boise Independent School
District.
-
There is no cost
associated with screening for consideration to enter TVMSC,
however the scores from the screening will be used for the
Student Selection process only. The scores will
not be mailed home or shared from the screening as TVMSC
covers all costs associated with testing and scoring these
assessments.
-
Students must have completed
the equivalent of Accelerated Math 7 or a school year of
Pre-Algebra before entering the program, as the first math
course they enter is Accelerated Algebra 1 (with additional
trigonometry). This course requires a thorough
understanding of pre-algebra.
-
All cohort levels in TVMSC
are multi-aged. Students are placed in their cohort based
upon their academic needs in mathematics. Cohort levels are not
grade levels!
-
If students have not
completed or mastered pre-algebra at the time that they are
screened, they have the option of attending TVMSC's Summer
School program to take the Pre-Algebra/ Accelerated Math 7
course.
-
Students who enter the TVMSC
program at the 8th grade cohort level or higher will be placed
into the mathematics course that is appropriate for building
upon their current math background.
-
Students spend half their
school day at TVMSC and the other half of their school day at
the school of their choice for the remainder of their classes.
-
Students only need to go
through the screening process once in order to qualify for
entrance into TVMSC. As long as students maintain acceptable
academic standards each semester, they do not need to reapply to
continue with the program.
-
Students may enter TVMSC as
soon as they are ready for Accelerated Algebra 1 (regardless of
their age or their grade in their original school). They may
remain in the program until they graduate from high school, as
long as acceptable academic standards are maintained.
-
Students who have left TVMSC
with acceptable grades in their last year while in the program
are able to re-enter TVMSC by contacting our office. (854-6802)
They will need to provide the center with a copy of their
transcript or report card showing the courses they have taken
and grades earned while out of the program.
Posted September 8, 2009 |
|
Celebrating a
TVMSC Student's Accomplishments!
TVMSC has some extremely exciting news to share about Justin
Knowles, one of TVMSC's 12th grade cohort students.
Justin has been in the Math & Science Center for the past four
years, having joined the Center in its second year of
operation. Justin is also open enrolled in Capital High
School.
Over the past two years, Justin
has been participating in the Internship component of the
TVMSC program, working first in a mentorship at Micron
Technology, Inc. in the field of Failure Analysis Physics and
then this year at Boise State University
working in the
field of Materials Science to investigate and conduct X-Ray
Crystallography Research.
Justin's research with Micron Technology, Inc. focused on the
'Effects of Soft Breakdown in the MOSFET Dielectric on
Transistor Performance.' His research work and findings were
extremely impressive and with the ongoing support of his
mentor at Micron Technology, Inc., Justin submitted his
research for consideration in the INTEL Science Talent Search
Competition.
"The Science Talent Search (STS) is America’s oldest and
most prestigious science research competition for high
school seniors. Since 1942, first in partnership with
Westinghouse and since 1998 with Intel, the competition has
provided a national stage for America’s best and brightest
young scientists to present original research to nationally
recognized professional scientists."
For further information about
the Intel Science Talent Search Competition, please visit:
The
following is an abstract for the research that Justin
conducted for Micron Technology, Inc.
"Gate
dielectric degradation on a metal oxide semiconductor
field-effect transistor (MOSFET) was investigated using an
accelerated constant voltage stressing (CVS) technique to
simulate prolonged use. The dielectric was not stressed to the
point of hard breakdown and gate control was still attainable
after the stressing. After testing, transistor performance was
shown to be statistically different than the fresh transistor
performance. This (Justin's) paper suggests that the
performance of a MOSFET transistor degrades without a hard
breakdown in the dielectric. This method of testing could
provide a new basis for transistor reliability testing in the
manufacturing environment."
Justin earned recognition this
spring as a Semifinalist for the Intel Science Talent Search
2009. Justin Knowles is the first student from Idaho to
attain this level of recognition in this prestigious event.
TVMSC is
also able to share further congratulations for Justin! He also
received news that he has been accepted
at Purdue University to study nuclear engineering beginning in the fall 2009 semester!
Prior to joining Purdue University this fall, Justin will join
the Idaho National Laboratory for a summer internship in
nuclear research.
It is with
sincere gratitude that TVMSC thanks Micron Technology, Boise
State University, and the Idaho National Laboratories for
providing Justin Knowles these outstanding opportunities for
internships!
It is with
pleasure that TVMSC congratulates Justin Knowles for his hard
work, dedication, and successes!
Posted May 18, 2009 |
|
Laura Moore
Cunningham Foundation, Inc. donation for
TVMSC!
On behalf of
the Treasure Valley Mathematics and Science Center, I would like
to express our most sincere appreciation for the generous
donation of $20,000.00 offered by the Laura Moore Cunningham
Foundation, Inc. in July, 2009 to support the educational
efforts of our program during the 2009 – 2010 school year. Of
these funds, $15,000 is designated to provide support for the
implementation and offering of two new Engineering and Medical
Professions courses in the TVMSC program. A further $5,000 is
designated to provide support for the Boise School District
FIRST Robotics team, 'Team Tators'. This will be TVMSC's third
year as the sponsor school for 'Team Tators.'
The funds
provided by this grant will support:
- acquiring and replenishing kits,
consumables and broken glassware in the labs used by the
PreEngineering and Introduction to Medical Professions
courses.
- the purchase of anatomical
models for the 'Introduction to Medical Professions' course.
- the purchase of science
equipment and materials for labs in forensics, genetics,
pharmacology, immunology and engineering
-
'Team Tators,' the Boise School District FIRST Robotics
team in designing, building, testing, and improving
their robot. The grant will also help transport the team and
'Tator Bot' to nearby FIRST Robotics Regional Competitions in
Spring 2010.
In July 2008, the
Laura Moore Cunningham Foundation, Inc. awarded TVMSC a grant
in the amount of $20,000 to support TVMSC's program. This
generous donation assisted TVMSC in acquiring equipment,
materials and lab supplies for environmental science, biology,
chemistry and physics. The donation also supported
TVMSC's summer program, enabling the Center to offer valuable
preparatory and study skills classes to incoming and current
students. The grant further supported TVMSC's teachers in
acquiring valuable professional development opportunities. The
donation by the Laura Moore Cunningham Foundation, Inc. also
enabled TVMSC's student to participate in mathematics and
science competitions and to travel to locations in order to
conduct valuable field research.
In July 2008, the
Laura Moore Cunningham Foundation, Inc. donated a further
$5,000 for use by 'Team Tators,' the Boise School
District FIRST Robotics team. This supported the team in
designing, building, testing and improving their robot.
It also provided valuable support for getting the team and
'Tator Bot,' their robot over to the FIRST Regional
Competitions during spring 2009.
In August 2007, Laura Moore Cunningham Foundation, Inc. also awarded TVMSC a grant in
the amount of $25,000 in support for continuing with the planned
expansion of the Center. These funds were for use by the
Center to renovate and outfit the new TVMSC science lab for the
new Capital High location.
This followed the initial $20,000
donation from the Laura Moore Cunningham Foundation, Inc. to
the Treasure Valley Mathematics and Science Center in Fall,
2006 which supported teacher training, acquisition of
equipment and materials, as well as funding for summer classes
and community outreach events offered through the Center.
The support
provided by the Laura Moore Cunningham Foundation, Inc. has
greatly expanded the opportunities that the Center is able to
provide for the students in the program. In turn, these funds
have also enabled the Center to provide quality outreach
programs back to the community, which further benefit our
students, our staff and our guests from across the Treasure
Valley who attend these events.
The Treasure Valley
Mathematics and Science Center sincerely appreciates the
continued support for our program that has been provided by the
Laura Moore Cunningham Foundation, Inc.
Posted September 17th, 2009 |
|
TVMSC Students To Travel
for Chess Championships
Jan. 1st, 2009: Luke Harmon-Vellotti rang in the New
Year with two great accomplishments for the state of Idaho! He
was invited to join the most prestigious youth chess team in the
U.S. and officially compete for the United States in
international events. He is the only Idahoan to ever be awarded
this honor (think of the Olympics for chess!)
Luke also achieved the title of Candidate Master (Expert)
awarded by the USCF (the governing body for chess in the United
States) for accruing enough official rating points during
sanctioned chess competitions. His victories over higher rated
adult players at a recent event in Seattle, WA put him over the
top. Luke became the youngest Chess Expert in Idaho's history,
and is on track to becoming the youngest Chess Master in the
state as well.
Luke hopes to represent the U.S. internationally this year in
Antalya, Turkey at the 2009 World Youth Chess Championships and
bring home the gold medal in his age section.
Luke Harmon-Vellotti, is currently a student in the Treasure Valley Math
and Science Center's 8th grade cohort. He has also been invited to be the U.S. delegate to
participate in the 2009 World Youth Chess Championships to be
held in Vung Tao, Vietnam in October, 2009. His brother,
Carl Harmon-Vellotti,
also a student at the TVMSC in the 9th grade cohort, qualified to be an alternate on the
U.S.
Luke
has his own website:
http://sponsorluke.com/
Each official
Chess Federation from around the world is allowed to invite one
boy and one girl each to participate in four separate age
categories.
Congratulations to Luke and Carl!
Posted January 19th, 2009 |
|
Boise's 'Team Tators'
Robotics Team
The Treasure Valley
Mathematics and Science Center is once again sponsoring the
Boise School District's FIRST Robotics team, 'Team Tators,' for the 2009
- 2010 season.
In the Spring 2010
Competitions, Team Tators will compete in the new Salt Lake
City, Utah FIRST Robotics Regional Competition. They will
also return to compete in the Sacramento/U.C. Davis Regional
Competitions for FIRST Robotics.
The formal kickoff of the
FIRST Robotics 2010 build and competition season will occur on
January 9th, 2010. Micron Technology, Inc. and Boise State
University host the local kickoff event.
Team Tators is extremely
grateful to the following sponsors of Team Tators for the 2009 -
2010 season:
-
Laura Moore Cunningham
Foundation, Inc. - $5,000
-
Boise Public Schools
Education Foundation - $2,000
In the 2008 season, Team Tators
competed in the Portland and Sacramento/U.C. Davis Regional
Competitions for FIRST, earning first place as the winning robot
at the U.C. Davis Regionals. As a result of their robot's
strong performance, Team Tators went on to compete at the FIRST
Robotics National Competition in Atlanta, GA.
In the 2009 season, Team
Tator's first 2009 competition was in the Portland
Regionals, in Oregon from March 5th - 7th where the team
earned the Motorola Quality Award. The team then
competed in the Sacramento Regional Competition at U.C. Davis
from March 26th - 28th where their team's alliance
earned second place in the finals.
For the 2009 season, Team
Tators Robotics received valuable support from:
-
Laura Moore Cunningham
Foundation, Inc. - $5,000
-
Weyerhaeuser Company
Foundation - $2,000 of the $5,000 TVMSC grant
-
Boise Public Schools
Education Foundation - $2,000
-
Micron Technology
Foundation, Inc. - $5,000
-
Hewlett Packard Company -
$5,000
-
Hewlett Packard Company -
in-kind donation of 150 hours of shop time
-
M. J. Murdock Charitable
Trust - $2,000
-
SolidWorks - in-kind
donation of 10 seats of access to the system
The goal of FIRST Robotics
is to encourage and support students in developing a keen
interest in the fields of engineering, robotics, computer
programming and mechanical design. Participating teams of high
school-aged students are recognized for excellence in team work,
professional conduct, creativity in engineering, as well as for
having a well designed robot. Participation on the team
provides students the opportunity to work with mentors from
business or industry (engineers, programmers, welders, etc.). It
allows students to bring their academic abilities in mathematics
and the sciences into a setting that provides a meaningful,
real-world context for their interests.
http://www.usfirst.org/what/frc/default.aspx?id=366
Team Tators is extremely
appreciative of the ongoing guidance and support provided to the
team by mentors from Hewlett-Packard Company and Micron
Technology, Inc.
To view the current year's
design challenge, please visit the US FIRST Robotics website at
http://www.usfirst.org/
Posted November 3rd, 2009 |
Idaho Students in the DOE National High School Science Bowl
Treasure Valley Mathematics and Science Center's High School
Science Bowl team competed with 28 other Idaho teams on
science and mathematics knowledge to vie for the title of
the 19th Annual INL Scholastic Tournament. The state
championship tournament began on March 25th in Boise. The
final round was held on Saturday, March 28th in Boise to
identify a first place team to represent Idaho in the U.S.
Department of Energy’s National High School Science Bowl in
Washington D.C. on April 30 through May 5. The students who
earned the top place for each state travel to D.C. for the
five days of national competition, with all of their
expenses covered by the Department of Energy.
The
U.S. Department of Energy’s National Science Bowl is
a “Jeopardy-style” national competition focusing on a broad
and deep range of topics in mathematics and science. The
National competition will involve more than 13,000 high
school participants from across the nation.
This is the first year that the Treasure Valley
Mathematics and Science Center has entered a team in the
U.S. Department of Energy’s High School National Science
Bowl. Last year, TVMSC's Middle School Science Bowl team
earned 5th place at the U.S. Department of Energy’s
National Middle School Science Bowl and first place in the
Alternative Fuel Cell Car Competition in the same event
held in Denver, CO.
TVMSC students who have
participated in each level of the National Science Bowl
qualifying events at the Regional and State levels
included:
West Idaho Region Tournament Players from
TVMSC:
Ivan Yanev - junior
Alex Baca - freshman
Kevin Brown - freshman
Kevin Hou - freshman
William Gee - junior
Jatin Julikanti - freshman
Matthew Tolley - freshman
Sam Chandler - freshman
Paul Schroeder - freshman
Zane Beckman - sophomore
Idaho State Tournament Players from TVMSC:
Ivan Yanev - junior
Alex Baca - freshman
Kevin Brown - freshman
Kevin Hou - freshman
William Gee - junior
Jatin Julikanti - freshman
Matthew Tolley - freshman
Sam Chandler - freshman
Andrew Hoth - freshman
The TVMSC students who
travelled to Washington,
D.C. to compete on behalf of Boise School District and the
state of Idaho at the 2009 U.S. Department of Energy’s
National Science Bowl were:
National Science Bowl Team Players:
Ivan Yanev - junior at TVMSC and Capital High School
Alex Baca - freshman at TVMSC and Riverglen
Junior School
Kevin Brown - freshman at TVMSC and Riverglen
Junior School
Kevin Hou - freshman at TVMSC and North Junior School
William Gee - junior at TVMSC and Timberline High School
Posted March 31st, 2009
|
Middle School
Science Bowl and Alternative Fuel Cell Competition
On Saturday, March 7th
TVMSC's middle school-level team competed with 32 other
teams in the 5th annual DOE (Dept. of Energy) Northwest
Science Bowl and Fuel Cell Competition. Three TVMSC Science
Bowl teams and three Fuel Cell teams competed at the
University of Idaho in Moscow, Idaho.
TVMSC's teams won both 1st
and 2nd place in the Fuel Cell Car Competition. This
competition features student-built fuel cell-powered cars
racing down a level guide wire for 10 meters. The fastest
time wins the competition.
Two TVMSC Middle School
Science Bowl teams also finished 3rd and 5th overall in
the double elimination Science Bowl competition. All
TVMSC teams advanced to the afternoon double elimination
tournament. This competition involves opposing teams of
four middle school students answering science and math
questions in a jeopardy-style format. The first team to
buzz in gets to answer the question.
This is the fifth year that
the Northwest Science Bowl has been conducted for middle
school students in Idaho and Washington. This is the
fourth year that TVMSC has participated. TVMSC's team
entered as the defending champions of the Fuel Cell Race
Competition at the national level. TVMSC also set
a record last year placing 5th in the Science Bowl at the
national level. No team from the northwest United States
has placed as high in either event at the national level.
Middle
School Northwest Regional Participation:
Science Bowl
Sponsor Teacher - Mark Anderson
Science Bowl Coaches - Nalini
Iyer, Sunita Raina
Science Bowl Helpers - Tamara
Donovan, Linda Knox
Science Bowl team - 3rd
place overall
Dash Dale
Eddie Smith
Kyle Hartman
Parth Raina
Vishnu Iyer
Science Bowl team - advanced
to double elimination
Maneesha Julikanti
Derek Knox
Miranda Tang
Taylor Jones
Zach Puett
Science Bowl Team - advanced
to double elimination
Carl Harmon
Luke Harmon
Michael Lee
Peter Donovan
Micah Gale
Fuel Cell Car Competition -
1st Overall
Holly Apsley
Peter Donovan
Joe Hansen
Brycen Deka
Fuel Cell Car Competition -
2nd Overall
Maribel Cervantes
Makynzie Zimmer
Jacob Merrill
Dillon Knox
Aaron Janusik
Fuel Cell Car Competition
Baylen Hahn
Micah Gale
Jacob Warwick
Iain Campbell
These students
deserve to be very proud of their excellent performance at the
Regional Event!
Posted April 10, 2009
|
|
Best Buy
Teach
Award Grant for TVMSC
This year, Best Buy Teach
Awards, ranging from $1,000 to $10,000, have been given to more
than 460 schools to sustain or enhance existing educational
programs. TVMSC is one
of the 460 schools nationwide to be awarded a Best Buy Teach
Award for 2009 on behalf of Julie Ekhoff, TVMSC's environmental
science and research teacher. This year's grant is for $5,000.
This is the
fourth Best Buy Teach Award granted to a TVMSC teacher.
In February 2008, Matt Yocum received a $2,000 Best Buy Teach
Award. This followed a February, 2007 award where Janice Poppenga was also a recipient of a
$2,000 Best Buy Teach Award. In 2006, TVMSC also received a
$5,000 grant to obtain equipment for use in obtaining equipment
for outdoor lab activities.
Best Buy believes
technology can excite and engage students, creating a more
valuable educational experience. Through Best Buy Teach Awards,
schools are provided gift cards to enable them to purchase more
technology for their students to use and learn. Since 2004, the
Best Buy Teach Award program has awarded over $17 million to
over 6,000 K-12 schools nationwide.
This award will be used to
acquire additional technology for the program, including a
weather station, a telescope, TI-89 graphing calculators, memory
devices, a web cam, binoculars, educational DVDs and a set of
2-way radios.
The Treasure Valley
Mathematics and Science Center sincerely appreciates the
continued support for our program that has been provided by Best
Buy!
Posted March 2, 2009 |
|
There will not be classes held at
TVMSC on November 6th, as this day is for Secondary
Professional Staff Development.
Posted November 3rd, 2009
|
|
|
A Micron Founded
Initiative
|
 |
For Academic Excellence
|
|
Treasure Valley
Mathematics & Science Center
|
|
6801 N. Gary Lane Boise, ID 83714
Phone ~ 854-6802
Fax ~ 854-6801
Principal:
|
|
Boise
School District
8169 W. Victory Rd., Boise, ID 83709
|
|
|
© Independent
School District of Boise City
All rights reserved |
|
|
