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MYP + VWC + HUMC="Home is Where the Heart Is"
By Megan Z. Shearin |ﾃモ ﾃモ January 22, 2010ﾃモ ﾃモ ﾃモ ﾃモ
Have you ever played fraction bowling?
Itﾃ｢€ s a unique math-themed game invented by Virginia Beach City Public School students from the Plaza Middle School International Baccalaureate Middle Years Program (MYP) for last nightﾃ｢€ s food pantry event held at Heritage United Methodist Church (UMC).
This collaborative event connected MYP students and Virginia Wesleyan College students enrolled in Winter Session Algebra and Homeless Shelter courses. With a focus on the liberal arts, the event incorporated using math to solve everyday problems in new and creative ways.
ﾃ｢€ I never thought Iﾃ｢€ d be doing this for an algebra course,ﾃ｢€ said Nikki Salyers ﾃ｢€ 13 from Severna Park, Md., as she neatly folded red napkins into origami shapes.ﾃモ ﾃ｢€ Itﾃ｢€ s a different way to use the angle skills we learned in math class and I really like it.ﾃ｢€
In the kitchen, students in the homeless shelter course raced around preparing spaghetti and meatballs, garlic bread and salads to feed the anticipated guests.By the Numbers:
Number of meals served: 75 plates
Gallons of spaghetti sauce: 20
Cans of crushed tomatoes: 12
Number of meatballs: 300
Bags of garlic bread: 30
Large bags of lettuce: 6
ﾃ｢€ We used our math skills to multiply the recipe for what we would need to feed our guests tonight,ﾃ｢€ said Kaylee Cossaboon ﾃ｢€ 12 from New Kent, Va. Students calculated that 20 gallons of spaghetti sauce, 12 cans of crushed tomatoes, 300 meatballs, 30 bags of garlic bread and six large bags of lettuce were needed.
The hallways were flooded with middle school students wearing bright red T-shirts with white lettering that read: "MYP + VWC + HUMC="Home is Where the Heart Is".ﾃモ Math-themed games created by the students included 3-card multiplication, fraction bingo and the cutting of snowflakes for symmetry and extraction. ﾃ｢€ This is the most volunteers Iﾃ｢€ ve ever seen in this church,ﾃ｢€ Lana Bowe, a Heritage UMC member and volunteer.
ﾃ｢€ This event demonstrates a cool link between the liberal arts and the community,ﾃ｢€ said Coordinator and Virginia Wesleyan's Professor of German and Director of Winter Session Dr. Susan Wansink. ﾃ｢€ Everyone involved benefited ﾃ｢€" from the Virginia Wesleyan students and the Plaza Middle MYP applying math concepts to real life to the Heritage United Methodist Church community enjoying food, fun and fellowship.ﾃ｢€
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