Pinoy students bag gold in Int'l Math and Science Olympiad

By RIE TAKUMI, GMA News

Published December 1, 2013 3:00pm

Three elementary students from the Philippines emerged with gold medals from the 10th International Mathematics and Science Olympiad (IMSO) for Primary School Students last November 25 to 29 at the SM Aura Premier in Taguig.

St. Jude Catholic School's Stefan Marcus Ong and Steven Reyes, along with the University of the Philippines Integrated School's John Henry Marquez, won the Philippine dignitaries its three gold medals, adding to our already formidable 18 silver and 41 bronze medals.

Filipino gold medalists Stefan Marcus Ong and Steven Reyes (second and third from left) together with other gold medalists in mathematics. Not included in this photo is fellow Pinoy winner John Henry Marquez. (Photo: MTG)

St. Jude managed to earn seven medals from the competition, while the Taguig City Team, comprised of students from different parts of the city, bagged nine medals apiece. St. Stephen's High School and Colegio San Agustin-Biñan both took home four medals, while San Beda College Alabang took three.

Thailand, Singapore, and Sri Lanka took home the most gold from the tourney, while Singapore's Xinyi Chen and Kar Weng Sean Leong respectively became the overall top scorers for the Math and Science division.

Dr. Simon Chua and the Mathematics Trainers Guild-Philippines organized the 10th IMSO with Mayor Lani Cayetano and the city of Taguig, in cooperation with the Department of Education (DepEd) and the Science Education Institute of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST-SEI).

Indonesia first opened the competition in 2003 to member-countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, until it was opened to other countries in 2004. The Philippines was chosen as the host country in 2011, after organizers decided to hold it outside Indonesia, because of the "known hospitality and friendliness" of its people.

Earlier in the year, the country won three bronze medals and two honorable mentions from the International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO) at Santa Marta, Colombia last July 18 to 28.

This year's team, which also included students from St. Jude Catholic School, raised the country's rank and posted the best performance of the Philippines in the IMO since 1995.

Last year's performance from the math and science competitions yielded 308 medals from international jousts. The DOST-SEI awarded these elementary and high school students in the Youth Excellence in Science (YES) awards. It noted that this was the first time YES Awardees reached over 300, the highest being 297 in 2009. — KDM, GMA News

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