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Department of Mathematics

Math Circle Rules

We are very excited that you have joined the Fresno Math Circle. We hope you will enjoy and benefit from participating in it!

To ensure that we have an enjoyable and efficient working environment, we have the following rules:

  • Be on time
  • Be prepared
  • Be respectful
  • Be on task
  • Try your best
  • Enjoy!

Here are some details about our rules and expectations.

  • Each Saturday Math Circle meeting starts at 10:00 AM (rooms open at 9:45 AM) while each Wednesday Math Circle meeting starts at 5:30 PM (room opens at 5:15 PM). We start working on problems right away. It is important to be on time. If someone is late, they will have less time to work on the problems and will be at a disadvantage when we discuss them as a whole group. Also, it is distracting when late participants enter the room.
  • You must bring a 3-ring binder dedicated to the Fresno Math Circle with you to every meeting. This binder will be used to file your materials and/or worksheets handed out at the meeting.
  • Do your best to attend every Math Circle meeting. It is understood that sometimes participants may miss a meeting due to an illness, emergency, or family travel, but we ask that you please notify us of any absences. Due to a long waiting list, participants may be dropped from the roster after two unexcused absences or if they miss four or more meetings in any semester.
  • To avoid any possible allergies, please do not bring any food or drink other than water to the classroom.
  • Please do not leave the classroom unannounced. If you need to go to the restroom, let one of the teachers know. Elementary school participants are escorted to the restroom and back. Middle and high school participants are allowed to go on their own if they know where a restroom is located, however, we still would like to know where you went. This rule is for your own safety and for our piece of mind. 
  • Every participant is expected to participate in all Math Circle activities during our meetings. No reading of outside materials, playing on a phone or a computer, etc. are allowed. If you bring a phone to the Math Circle, it must be stored away and remain silent during the meeting.
  • We have a variety of ages, grade levels, backgrounds, and problem solving experiences in the Math Circle. You may be one of the fastest or one of the slowest problem solvers. In either case, it is important to keep in mind that this is not a race. We will respect all participants. No matter how many problems someone has solved in the time allowed, they will learn from working on those problems. We normally try to maintain a non-competitive environment. However, occasionally we have in-circle problem solving competitions. We expect good sportsmanship from all of our participants.
  • Many of the problems we are working on and the concepts we are discussing are advanced and challenging. Most of the time the participants will not be able to solve all problems. They should not get discouraged by that. On average, first year Math Circle participants retain about 30% of the material. We will revisit many of the concepts, ideas, problem solving strategies, etc. in our future meetings this year as well as next year. The more experience you gain, the better problem solver you will become!
  • At the end of the meeting, elementary school participants need to be picked up by parents. Middle and high school participants will be allowed to leave on their own unless requested by a parent otherwise.