THREE students from Sogod National High School in Sogod, Southern Leyte won bronze and merit awards in the prestigious Hong Kong International Mathematics Olympiad (HKIMO) heat round-Philippines recently.
“It is the first time for Sogod National High School to join an international Mathematics contest. This is indeed a good jumpstart because the students this year garnered an award and we laud them for their achievement,” said Mathematics teacher and coach Lea Pavo-Caraquil.
The senior high school students who excelled during the competition were Melojean Flores, Grade 12-Science Technology Engineering Mathematics (Stem) Program; Emm Margarette Caraquil, Grade 12-Stem; and Marc Gil David, Grade 11-Stem.
Flores, whose parents worked as security guard and vendor, got a bronze award.
Caraquil, a daughter of Pavo-Caraquil, clinched another bronze.
David, the fifth child among nine siblings, received a merit award.
“Striking a balance between review sessions and doing school stuff is no easy task, but for these students who garner awards, juggling things is a piece of cake,” added Pavo-Caraquil, who thanked the students for bringing “pride and honor” to the school.
According to their coach, the students’ journey started last April 13, 2021, when Flores, Caraquil, and another consistent honor student Angeline Caňega received merit awards when they competed in the Philippine International Mathematical Olympiad (Phimo) heat round.
The coach then challenged the three female students to the HKIMO heat round but, accordingly, Caňega decided not to register.
Pavo-Caraquil picked David as a replacement for Caňega.
David developed his Math skills in Silago National Vocational High School from Grades 7 to 10 while Caraquil and Flores were known to be Math wizards in Sogod National High School since they were in Grade 7, according to the coach.
“Despite the poverty they are facing, the four students were constant recipients of high honors,” Pavo-Caraquil said.
Meanwhile, the coach said that winning in the HKIMO heat round “proved that powers of studying hard and time management in this new normal are key ingredients for success.”
“Despite the busy schedules dealing with the demands of their different subjects and doing household chores and with less than a month of preparation, the team decided to resort to an online review through social media platforms as it was the only means to meet their minds,” said Pavo-Caraquil.
According to her, they faced so many challenges before the competition since face-to-face review sessions were not allowed and their school was temporarily closed for almost a month due to cases of coronavirus disease (Covid-19).
“Through constant discovery on a genuine enthusiasm for Mathematics, the three were able to top hundreds of contestants in HKIMO,” said Pavo-Caraquil, whose husband is also a Mathematics teacher.
Meanwhile, Pavo-Caraquil said they are now looking for financial assistance so they can join in the final round which will be held online from August 28 to 29, 2021.
The winners in the final round will compete with students from other countries.
“The two ladies qualified to compete in the HKIMO final round but are hesitant to join since each needs P7,280 to register. They have determination, knowledge, and skills but poverty tends to hinder them to discover how far can they go,” the coach said.
“We are praying and hoping that we can raise the money before August 1 so our students can register,” Pavo-Caraquil told Sunstar Philippines.
HKIMO, with over 25 participating countries, is known as one of the sophisticated competitions in the world.
The topics during the tournament include logical thinking, arithmetic (kindergarten/primary section), algebra (secondary section), number theory, geometry, and combinatorics. (SunStar Philippines)