Some 350 students from Grades 7 – 11 in approximately 45 secondary high schools across Jamaica gathered at the Assembly Hall on The University of the West Indies, Mona Campus this morning, Saturday, March 6, 2010 for the second round of the 2010 Jamaican Mathematical Olympiad which is being organised by Department of Mathematics at The UWI, Mona in collaboration with Sterling Asset Management.

The 2010 Jamaican Mathematical Olympiad is a national mathematical competition open to all high school students in Jamaica.  The students are competing for selection as National Mathematics Champion at their grade level. The top three overall performers will travel to Puerto Rico in May, 2010, to compete in the CENTRO 2010 Regional Mathematical Olympiad.

The launch of the Jamaican Mathematical Olympiad is part of an attempt by the Department of Mathematics, Mona to identify mathematically talented students, encourage them in their studies, and provide extra resources and special training for them. In the longer term, the Department also expects to encourage all students, even those of more average abilities, to take up a more interesting and challenging set of experiences.  It is expected that teachers and students across the spectrum will engage in better and more satisfying mathematical activities in their classrooms.

 The Olympiad is being conducted in four rounds, after which the Department of Mathematics will hold the Jamaican Mathematical Olympiad.  This will be a written examination taken by the top ten students in each grade level.  As a result of this round, the Department of Mathematics will declare National Mathematics Champions for each of the Grades 7—11. 
In order to become a National Mathematics Champion at their grade level, a student will have to proceed through four rounds of examinations.  The first of these was the Qualifying Round which started on February 7, 2010.  That test was multiple-choice, open book, and students were allowed until February 15, 2010, to complete it. 

The top performers in this examination qualified to participate in the First Round of the Jamaican Mathematical Olympiad.   This 90 minutes examination was invigilated and featured both multiple-choice and written-answer questions.   

The top performers in the First Round will be invited to participate in the Semifinal round to be held on March 27, 2010.  This test will be written-answer and last for 2½ hours. 
Finally, the top performers from this exam will be invited to participate in the Jamaican Mathematical Olympiad.  The Olympiad will be held on April 17, 2010.  This test will be written-answer and last for 3½ hours.

The top Olympiad performer from each grade level will be declared National Champion.  In addition, the top three performers overall who meet certain age restrictions will be named to the Jamaican Mathematical Olympiad Team.  This team will travel to Puerto Rico in May, 2010, to participate in a Regional Mathematical Olympiad.

Jamaica is one of four countries in the English-speaking Caribbean which has been invited to participate in the Regional Mathematics Olympiad, the other countries being Barbados and Trinidad and Tobago. Other countries participating in the Regional Olympiad are Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Puerto Rico, the US Virgin Islands
and Venezuela.

The Olympiad round was preceded by a brief opening ceremony. Speakers were Deputy Principal of the UWI, Mona, Mr. Joseph Pereira, Managing Director of Sterling Asset Management Limited, Mr. Charles Ross, Dean of the Faculty of Pure & Applied Sciences, Professor Ishenkumba Kahwa and Head of the Department of Mathematics, Professor Alexandra Rodkina. The ceremony was chaired by Dr. Raymond McEachin, Coordinator for the Maths Olympiad Planning Committee and Lecturer in the Department of Mathematics, Mona.