Hi Reader...

It’s SASMO (Singapore & Asian Schools Math Olympiad) season. At the end of this email, you’ll find the link to sample papers with full solutions.

Over the weekend, I held a 1-to-1 training session with my Secondary 3 student (Z), who had attempted part of the sample paper.

Z registered through school and approached me for past year papers. Wow… that’s motivation!

In the 1.5-hour session that followed Z’s pace, we covered questions involving:

1. number theory
2. algebraic long division
3. coprime numbers
4. pattern recognition
5. balancing puzzle
6. logarithm
7. combinatorics - complementary counting
8. geometry - application of similar triangles
9. logic puzzle
10. polyhedrons and Euler’s Formula

Over the session, Z turned from being frustrated at incorrect solutions to enjoying learning new concepts and strategies.

Though the questions may seem challenging, the key is to use effective teaching methods such as

• growth mindset:
  • "Mistakes help us to learn and improve. Let's find out how to solve this together."
• connect to what the student already knows
  • "Name some 2D shapes you know... Now name some 3D shapes you know... Well, polyhedrons are..."
• simplify the problem
  • "What if this problem involves only 9 instead of 2019 coins?"
• use concrete and pictorial along with abstract
  • "Hold a cube. How many faces are there? How many edges? How many vertices?"... "Now complete this table"...

Ok, back to solving more questions and designing lessons to prepare for future sessions!

~ Carol @ Owlissimo

P.S. Download your sample Math Olympiad (especially SASMO) papers with full solutions at

>>> https://form.simcc.org/lms-home/​

P.P.S. My Master of Education (Math) semester break is from next Monday until 17 March. There are Chinese New Year holidays and travelling in between too.

So I’m only conducting short-term private SASMO training for selected parents and students.