Math Blast Off
GEAR UP Math Blast Off is an annual summer math head start program that takes place on UTC's campus and serves the Chattanooga GEAR UP cohort. Prospective volunteers and guardians can find information about our opportunities below:
GEAR UP students, sign up here!
Program Goals:
- Build skills students will need in their math class in the coming year
- Expose students to hands-on, real-world application of math concepts to increase interest in the subject
- Familiarize students with the college setting
- Establish a mentoring relationship between middle school and college students
Dates and Times:
Thursday, June 1, 2023- Meeting for program participants and their guardians.
Blast off runs from Monday to Friday, June 5-16, 2023 from 8:30-2:00.
We need volunteers from 11:45 to 2:30 each day.
Awards ceremony:
Friday, June 16 we will host an awards ceremony from 12:15-1:30. Location TBA. Students will be recognized and awarded for their hard work in the program. In addition to the latest GEAR UP T-shirt, students will receive an individualized commendation from their mentor, and an opportunity to showcase their projects in the competition. Students are also eligible to receive the following awards:
Perfect Attendance Trophies/ Medals
"Math Hustle" award given by each teacher
Perks:
We will provide you lunch every day, plus a T-shirt and several chances to toss eggs in our Olympics, bend over backwards in limbo contests, rope up on the climbing wall and sample freely from the GEAR UP playbook. And of course, there's the main thing – you’d be giving some hard-working under-served students a college experience that would be unforgettable & will inspire them to do the hard work it will take for them to get to college.
Role of Mentors:
- Lead a group of four to six rising 11th & 12th grade students each afternoon
- Guide students through a series of campus and community activities designed to make them feel at home on a college campus
- Assist in raising students' self-confidence by placing them in unfamiliar and challenging situations in which they can discover the satisfaction of learning new skills
Some of the program's afternoon activities include:
- A campus scavenger hunt
- Dissecting sharks and a visit to the TV studio.
- The GEAR UP Olympics (involving egg toss, limbo, wheelbarrow race and similar games)
- A visit to the climbing wall at Coolidge Park
- Swimming in the ARC