Kimberly, a sixth grade pupil at the Oro Christian Grace School, was among the 48 Filipino bronze medalists in the China Primary Math Olympiad dubbed as the second most difficult math tournament in the word-last month. A student from the Colegio de San Agustin in Makati City won a silver medal.
The two-day competition saw a gathering of Math wizards around the Asian continent, in which the Filipino contingent made a mark by hauling a medal for each.
"Happy and excited," said Tee as she shyly described her feelings when she went on stage to receive the bronze medal.
On the first day of the tournament, she said participants solved various mathematical problems and played Soduko, a popular logic-based number placement puzzle. The next day, the grueling exams were solved by each group.
Kimberly, who was accompanied by her mother Mari-Ann, said the experience was both challenging and entertaining. "After the quiz we went on sight seeing," she said.
But the making of a math wizard requires rigorous training and extreme patience.
Although her teachers believe she was decidedly brilliant, Kimberly had to undergo series of trainings in Cebu and Manila prior to the August competition.
Emmanuel Recanel, Kimberly's Math teacher, said his pupil had to undergo yearly training with Mathematic Trainers Guild (MTG). Honing a math talent also entails experience in almost all Math competitions all around the country.
Pastor Grace Park, the school principal, said she is proud of the honor their pupil brought to their school and to Cagayan de Oro City.
Vice Mayor Vicente Emano, in a press release last week, also lauded Kimberly's accomplishment, saying talented students like her must be nortured for the city's development.
