MATHEMATICS
Numbers/Tricks/Logics/Proves/Combinatorics/Calculus
Well, first of all, the intension of this page is NOT for teaching purpose. For those who wish to view some notes (either HKUST or SKHLKMSS), please click "Kitty's notes" on the top, right-hand corner.
Here, you will be reading a real story about a girl growing up with Mathematics. How easy / difficult did one make her every tiny, little decisions? What major events did she meet and why were they so impartant to her?
Kitty had been loving Mathematics since she was very young, like 3 or 4 years old. She requested her mom to let her calculate the price and changes when they went to supermarket, and successfully asked her mom to teach her multiplication - within 1 to 10 - when she started P.1 (multiplication is a topic in the syllabus for P.2 last semester).
At the beginning of P.4, Kitty became a member of the School Mathematics Team. The course content there was a bit difficult to most of the team member, but just too easy for Kitty. Therefore, her teacher planned to let her go to the training for P.6 students next year when Kitty promoted to P.5 in 2002-2003.
In 2003, something called SARS suddenly came out. Schools suspended. Most of the competitions were cancelled. So, Kitty did not take any advanced classes, finally, during her whole primary level of studies.
Instead of taking trainings and participating in the competitions, Kitty and her little brother went the the park next to their home everyday. They became physically stronger and better prepared for the upcoming challenges. Kitty also discovered the identiy "(a+b)(a-b)=a^2 - b^2" during that period of time.
Before Kitty's graduation (the primary school one^^), she got an invaluable opportunity to represent Hong Kong in a national Mathematical Olympiad. This is Kitty's first time joining such large-scale competition. 10 years later, Kitty knew, from her Mom, that her trainer felt Kitty's performance in the competition was better than her usual one in the daily trainings. This kind of little funny stuff makes Kitty happy for a day long even after she got her degree in Maths nowadays :>
Road to Success
Learning and Devoting
Future
Promoted to F.1, Kitty kept performaning outstandingly and won her first territory-wide gold award in secondary level. One year later, Kitty became a member of the Support Measures for the Exceptionally Gifted Students scheme under EDB of the HK government. Most of the newly admitted members there were in senior forms. She was very prond of her ranking at the 14th place although only 12 female members would be representing Hong Kong that year.
Kitty started taking courses at different universities since F.3 and became the tutor of the Mathematics Team of her secondary school since F.4. During the same period of time, Kitty gained lots of other related experiences for her unique growth, such as being a peer counsellor, forming a joint-school leadership group, chairing Maths Society, working as an English Ambassador, and actively participating in a uniform group and House activities. All these roles shape Kitty as the the present her.
When she was working hard for her HKCEE, Kitty entered the Hong Kong team again as an alternative member to a national competition. Later in August 2009, Kitty got a free trip (her first free flight ^^) to Xiamen for her beloved Mathematical Olympiad, which coincided with her pre-F.6 leadership camp. So, once again, Kitty had to sacrifice her time staying together with her peers. This, of course, gave some impact to her relationship with her classmates; fortunately, Kitty got very understanding friends in 6B~7B and she would like to express her love and gratitude to them <3 <3
In her fifth attempt to the APMO, Kitty got her first international award when she was already F.6. Though Honorable Mention is just something little in genius' (cow's) eyes, Kitty did view it as an honor of her MO life - she gained it starting from 0. By the first time she got the paper, Kitty did not even understand the problems asked in the competition, when she was just a F.2 student. She did start it from getting 0 mark.
Till the end of her 10-year journey as a student in the Mathematical Olympiad domain, Kitty won a conditional offer of JUPAS from HKUST with her numerous awards. This offer, somehow, concludes her achievements and praised her diligence in these years, explicitly. However, Kitty is more proud of being able to fill up all the 25 choices according to her own preferences.
Deep in Kitty's heart, she learnt lots of lifte-long useful attitide (such as cheerful, full-dedication, perseverance and responsible) here in spite of the interesting Mathematics she met.
Kitty loves herself the most when she seizes every chance to learn and devote; she feels most energetic when she is doing her best, regardless of the level or number of awards. (In fact, Kitty had no interest in going onto the school stage, receiving the awards that she won outside. It was just too boring.)
After the course about MO she met in Spring 2013, Kitty is awaiting for the upcoming 2016 IMO, which is to be held in Hong Kong!!