On Friday, April 26th, over 600 students from across Long Island made presentations at the final round of the Al Kalfus Long Island Math Fair, held at Hofstra University. Peter Le Porin, an eighth grader at the Waldorf School of Garden City, received a gold medal.

“The competition involved researching and writing a paper on a topic in mathematics, presenting that research before judges, and answering questions posed by the judges,” said Ms. Deann Reyes, Waldorf’s middle and high school math teacher.

Receiving a gold medal for his project, Peter’s topic focused on probability – specifically ‘casino math’ and the odds of playing different casino games.

“We are all extremely proud of Peter’s hard work and fine achievement!” Reyes continued.

The Al Kalfus Long Island Math Fair is an annual competition sponsored by the Nassau and Suffolk County Math Teachers’ Association as well as the New York Metropolitan Section of the Mathematical Association of America. The competition invites nearly 1200 students in grades 7 through 12 from Nassau and Suffolk counties to conduct independent research on a math topic that interests them. Once a paper is accepted by the review committee the students make a 15 minute preliminary round presentation in March to the judges. Students who make a successful presentation are invited to participate in the final round.