ARML Week Itinerary and Information

Dear all,

It's almost time for ARML!  This email contains some logistical information you'll need for the trip this week.

Itinerary

First and most importantly, an itinerary and schedule for the weekend is attached to this email.  Please read it carefully!  It also contains a packing list, contact information for coaches (which students should save in their phones), and some fairly basic rules that students will be expected to follow.

The itinerary will also tell you where and when to meet your travel group (van or flight).  Please read that information right away and make sure you know where to go and when to be there!

You'll notice some of the items on that schedule are TBD; this is primarily because we haven't been told yet which dorm building we'll be staying in.  We will update the itinerary, and re-send it if necessary, when we have this information.

COVID policies

Just as a reminder, please be aware of and cautious with the possibility of last-minute COVID infections, as you would with any other travel or event.  If you experience symptoms this week, you should get tested, by PCR if possible to minimize the possibility of false negatives.  If you test positive, contact the coaches immediately.  If you are unable to travel due to a positive COVID test, we will issue a full refund of fees upon submission of a copy of your test results from a facility that provides such documentation.

As an added precaution, coaches will conduct temperature checks for students traveling in the vans before departure.

We encourage you to wear masks or face coverings as much as possible during the trip, especially in crowded spaces such as the vans, planes, dorm common areas, and individual/relay rounds on Saturday.  Please bring your own masks, but coaches will have a limited supply of extras once you arrive in Las Vegas if needed.

Should a student show COVID symptoms during the trip, we will have some test kits for them to use, and will isolate them as needed if they test positive.  We will contact parents directly about travel home should this occur.

Phone numbers and emergency contacts

Please fill out this form to provide a phone number that you'll have with you on the trip to ARML, and an emergency contact: https://forms.gle/SJcHKhEQRxTJqdZq6 

Should you need to contact staff during the trip, contact information is listed in the itinerary.  Please contact your own team's coaches first, then Moor if you can't reach them, or if there is a major emergency.

Shirts

We are looking for a volunteer to pick up our t-shirts from the printing company on Tuesday or Wednesday, and bring them to the vans on Thursday morning.  They are at Century Graphics in Sunnyvale and can be picked up anytime between 8:30am and 5:00pm either day.  If you're traveling by van and able to do this, please let us know - it would be greatly appreciated.

Also, it is team tradition to wear your oldest ARML shirt on the vans or on your flight to ARML. If you have your oldest ARML shirt available, please wear it!

If you have any further questions…

…let us know and I or one of the other coaches will do our best to get back to you quickly. If you need to contact us, please use (as always) arml-info@lists.berkeley.edu to ensure that the right person gets your email.

--Silas (and the rest of the coaches)

Updates, A3 practice, logistics

Hi everyone, 

It was great to see everyone at practice last weekend. Practice materials and another practice individual round is now up at the practice website: https://www.ocf.berkeley.edu/~moorxu/2022ARML/. We will not have a team-wide practice this weekend, though some teams may have an online practice as directed by their coaches. 

In particular, the A3 team will have an online practice Sunday 3-4pm for the Bay Area and Sac halves of the team to meet each other. You can join at the following Zoom link:

[redacted for the email blog]

We also suggest that students join the team discord: [redacted for the email blog]

A few logistical notes from Silas: 

(1) Expect a detailed itinerary soon, once we have final scheduling information from ARML.

(2) if you're flying, the coach who's chaperoning your flight should be in touch with when to meet at the airport. 

(3) if you're going down on the van, meet at 10am at Diridon on Thursday, and expect to return around 8pm on Sunday. More details to follow in the detailed itinerary.

As always, let us know if you have any questions!

Best,

Moor

Practice this weekend, permission slips, Po-Shen Loh talks

Hi everyone, 

Our final Bay Area practice of the season will be on Sunday, May 22, 10am-5pm at AlphaStar Academy in Santa Clara. Note that we're going back to the 5pm end time for this practice. Lunch will also be provided. As always, details can be found at https://www.ocf.berkeley.edu/~moorxu/2022ARML/.

At this weekend's practice, in addition to the usual content, we're also going to participate in FARML, which is written by one of the ARML authors as an annual practice scrimmage - we'll be competing against other teams from across the country. As such, we'd appreciate if everyone could make an extra effort to come on time.

Many of you still need to turn in permission slips. If you have not yet submitted a notarized permission slip (either by mail or by handing one to me), please bring it to this weekend's practice. You can find a notary at most banks, UPS stores, and so on - and many of these places are open today! It's important that we take care of this paperwork ASAP.

For those of you in Sacramento, I will be at Saturday's practice at UC Davis and can take permission slips from anyone who needs to submit one at that time.

If anyone is looking for some more math this weekend, our friend Prof Po Shen Loh from CMU (aka the founder of Expii and USA international math olympiad coach) is visiting the Bay Area and giving some public talks this weekend. Information is included below.

Please let us know if you have any questions, and I'm looking forward to seeing everyone this weekend!

Best,

Moor

=======================================================

Hi there,

I'm on tour (https://poshenloh.com/tour), giving free public math talks in 30 cities over 5 weeks. My SF weekend is coming up, and I'm trying to figure out how to reach more people to let students and families know that there is a fun and enlightening math event that they could attend. Might you be willing to share this with your communities and mailing list?

The talk is for families of students in grades 4-11, and it will be a math talk like none other. I am a professional mathematician who also uses math to invent solutions to significant real-world problems. I'll talk about some of those inventions, placing everything in the context of how students can build up similar mathematical invention skills of their own. There will be math, there will be storytelling, and there will be tips for more effective learning. I've already gone around many cities in this month's tour, and the feedback has been overwhelmingly and enthusiastically positive. Registration is free, and the SF events are all listed at: https://poshenloh.com/tour. They start this Fri May 20, and run in various Bay Area locations on Sat May 21 and Sun May 22.

Best,
Po

Extra shirt orders; practice materials and homework

Hi everyone,

Orders for extra shirts are now open and will close at midnight tomorrow night, approximately 24 hours from now! To order, visit https://mathleague.org/armlshirts.php. Note: if you are a student or coach traveling with the team to Vegas, we already have a shirt for you based on the size that you submitted on your information sheet, and you do not need to order an extra one unless you want a second shirt, perhaps of a different color.

Practice materials from today's practice, and homework for this week, are all up at the practice website now. Also check out the practice website for the upcoming schedule. https://www.ocf.berkeley.edu/~moorxu/2022ARML/.

As a reminder, permission slips are due on May 23, and I can take your permission slips at the practice next Sunday (May 22, 10am-5pm, at AlphaStar Academy). For those of you in Sacramento, I am intending to come to your practice at UC Davis on Saturday May 21, and I can pick up permission slips from you then. :)

Best,

Moor

Practice on Sunday 5/15 and Sunday 5/22

Hi everyone, 

We have finalized our Bay Area practice schedule for the remainder of the season. Our next practice will be Sunday May 15, 10am-4pm at AlphaStar Academy, followed by Sunday May 22, 10am-5pm, also at AlphaStar Academy. Thank you to AlphaStar Academy for partnering with us and hosting practices at their office!

Lunch is provided at each practice. Masks are strongly recommended indoors, and lunch will be served outside. Please note the earlier than usual end time for practice this week. For more information about practices, see the practice website: https://ocf.berkeley.edu/~moorxu/2022ARML/. 

As a reminder, everyone needs to submit a notarized permission slip by May 23. You may submit permission slips by mail or by handing them to me at practice. For those of you in Sacramento, I may be able to come to a Sac practice over the next two weekends. If I'm able to do so, I would also be able to pick up your permission slips then - I'll update you soon. For more information, see https://mathleague.org/armljoin.php. 

It's tradition that every team has their own t-shirt color. (The coaches represent all of the teams and get tie-dye shirts.) Every team needs to pick a color this week. I've started discussions on each team's Discord channel. Students are encouraged to join the team Discord and participate in the decision! (A3, since a lot of your team is split between the Bay Area and Sac/Davis, you'll have to make this decision online by Sunday.) Discord invite: [redacted for email blog]

As always, shoot us an email at arml-info@lists.berkeley.edu if you have any questions. Looking forward to seeing everyone at practice!

Best,

Moor

Materials from May 7 practice; recommended homework

Hi everyone, 

It was great to see everyone at our practice this past Saturday. We hadn't had an in-person practice since May 2019, and after practice, the coaches all agreed that the in-person experience is so much better than Zoom. :) 

I've posted materials from this practice on the practice website. You can access the materials using username=sfba and password=arml. 

I've posted a recommended homework assignment on the practice website as well - an ARML individual round. While this isn't required and we're not going to collect it from you, we generally do not do individual rounds during our team practice time, and I encourage everyone to do this individual round this week. I'll post one a week until ARML. 

We apologize for our ongoing difficulties confirming a space (and therefore a date) for our practice this weekend. I plan to update the practice website by Wednesday with a plan for this weekend.

For those of you who were not at our practice this week, we announced this year's teams, and a copy is listed below.

A few final reminders:

• Students can join the team discord: [redacted on the email blog]

• Check out the practice website: https://ocf.berkeley.edu/~moorxu/2022ARML/ 

• If you have not yet completed a permission slip for the trip, please do so (information at https://mathleague.org/armljoin.php)

• Team emails are archived at https://sfbaarml.blogspot.com/.

Best,

Moor

======================

Team Rosters:

[redacted on the email blog]

Reminder: ARML practice on Saturday

Hi everyone, 

Our first in-person SFBA ARML practice of the season will be on Saturday, May 7, 10am-5pm, at AlphaStar Academy. Details are available at https://ocf.berkeley.edu/~moorxu/2022ARML/. Please note that we have also updated the practice schedule to more accurately reflect uncertainty about the remaining practice dates (Saturday vs Sunday).

At this first practice, we will introduce the coaches, announce this year's teams, introduce each of the ARML rounds, and practice in teams. We will also have a math talk from Simon, a walkthrough of some problems from our practice, and some social time for everyone to get to know each other. Feel free to bring some games or a frisbee to practice! Lunch will be provided in the middle of practice. If you have any dietary restrictions (other than being vegetarian), please let us know, and we'll see what we can do.

ARML is a team event, and it's important that everyone come to practice if possible in order to work in teams. If you have a schedule conflict with part of practice, it's ok to attend whatever portion that you're available. If you're unable to attend, please fill out our practice absence form and provide a (good) reason. If you are not joining the team on the trip to UNLV this year, you're still welcome to come to practice - just make sure to check in with a coach when you arrive so we can tell you which team to practice with. If you're in the Sacramento/Davis area, you're not required or expected to come to SFBA's practices; instead, please attend the practice at UC Davis.

We encourage everyone to carpool to practice with others from your city or area. If you need help arranging carpools, I've posted a carpool matching spreadsheet on the practice website. In particular, if anyone is coming from the Palo Alto / Mountain View area, one of our coaches could use a ride. :) 

We're actively working to pin down locations for the remaining practices. Due to uncertainty in location, we've updated the practice schedule to reflect that we may opt to hold practice on either Saturday or Sunday the next two weekends; we intend to select one of each. If you have leads on practice venues (we just need 3 classrooms of 15 seats each) in your local area, such as a school, church, or community center, please let us know.

As a reminder, every student on our team needs to submit a notarized permission form. Please see https://mathleague.org/armljoin.php for more information about this requirement. Permission forms can be submitted either via mail or to me (Moor) at practice.

As always, please email the coaching staff at arml-info@lists.berkeley.edu if you have any questions. Looking forward to seeing everyone at practice on Saturday!

Best,

Moor