Providence Day School · Since 2026
About the club
We are the PD Math Club — we compete and strive for excellence in math.
Our mission
Mathematics is something you do, not something you watch
Our mission is to help students who want to further their math skills, compete against other students, or simply build a strong math foundation reach their goals. We aim to provide opportunities to any student regardless of their level of talent.
Classes necessarily move at the pace of a syllabus. A club does not have to. So we spend our time on the parts that get squeezed out: the problem nobody in the room can solve yet, the proof that turns out to be three lines once you see it the right way, the argument about whether an approach actually works.
You do not need to be the strongest mathematician in your year to belong here. You need to be willing to sit with something confusing for thirty minutes. That is the entire entry requirement.
One we keep coming back to
A sum of reciprocals of squares, landing on π — a number that belongs to circles. Nobody designed that. Finding out why it is true is a genuinely good afternoon, and it is the kind of thing we do here.
What we do
What you get out of it
Whatever your level, there is more than one way to take part.
Solve problems
Our Problem of the Week is a fun challenge that pushes your problem-solving skills and math knowledge, whatever level you are at.
Learn new skills
Our resources page and guest speaker events help you go further and take on tougher challenges.
Compete
We take part in the AMC 10 and AMC 12, and with enough support the Purple Comet — competitions that test your limits no matter how much you already know.
Collaborate
Meet other students who are just as interested in math as you are, and work together to get better.
Meetings
Schedule coming soon
Our meeting day, time and room will be announced at the start of the school year — check back soon.
Once the year is underway we will post the weekly meeting day, time and room here. Come in late, leave early, bring homework you are stuck on — none of it is a problem.
Competitions
Where we compete
Entering a contest is always optional and always covered by the club budget. We would encourage anyone to give one a try.
AMC 10
Early NovemberThe MAA's American Mathematics Competition for students in grade 10 and below: 25 multiple-choice questions in 75 minutes, no calculators. A strong score opens the door to the AIME and the rest of the olympiad pathway.
AMC 12
Early NovemberThe same 25-question, 75-minute format as the AMC 10 but open to students through grade 12, with problems that reach further into precalculus. It is the other route to qualifying for the AIME.
Purple Comet! Math Meet
April 14 – 23, 2026A free, international, online team contest. Teams of up to six work together on a set of problems spanning algebra, geometry, number theory and combinatorics, choosing their own start time within a ten-day window.
Meet the team
Who runs the club
Four students run the club, with support from our faculty advisor.
Alan Dai
Grade 10
Hello! My name is Alan and I make the final call on the decisions made by the Math Club leadership. I love anime and gaming, and I also like learning about math, technology and finance.
Tavish Rajdev
Grade 10
I'm Tavish! As Vice President I oversee website AI integration, club event coordination and club planning. I love learning about math, AI, physics and robotics.
Aidan Korten
Grade 10
Hi, I'm Aidan! I manage the website and the backend that keeps the Math Club ticking. I love learning about math and computer science.
Andy Liu
Grade 10
My name is Andy Liu, and I really like math. My hobbies include tennis and reading. I look forward to a great year with the Math Club!
Annie Castro
Mathematics Department
Faculty advisor for the PD Math Club.
How to join
Two ways to join
Membership is open to every student in grades 9 through 12, at any point in the year.
At the club fair
Find our table at the club fair and fill out the sign-up form there.
By email
Email any club officer (addresses are on the Contact page) and we will add you to the list.
Questions
Frequently asked
What is Problem of the Week?
A weekly set of problems at increasing difficulty that challenges your problem-solving skills and math knowledge. The levels are set by difficulty, so anyone can find something worth trying.
How does Problem of the Week get graded?
You submit one final answer per problem. It is checked the moment you submit, and anything that needs a written argument is read and scored by a teacher. If you think you received the wrong grade, reach out to a club officer and we will sort it out.
What do I do if I think my POTW grade is wrong?
Contact a club officer and send them your work along with the graded output. We will review it and make sure the grade is correct.
How can I improve at competition math?
Practice makes perfect. Check the resources page for sites with past AMC papers, then set a timer and work through them. If a concept itself is the problem, the resources page also links courses on a range of topics.
How can I get better at Problem of the Week?
Check the archive page for past problems, and use them for practice between weeks.
How can I learn more advanced concepts?
Come to a guest speaker event, where we cover things that are not on the standard curriculum, or work through the resources page.
Start with a problem
The fastest way to find out whether this club is for you is to spend twenty minutes on this week’s set. No account needed to read it.