For students grades 5 through 8
February 1 through March 29, 2025
The X Academy Math Circle is a weekly meeting between college-level math faculty and professionals with students who enjoy creative problem solving and challenging math beyond their grade level.
Saturdays 10:00 to 12:00 noon
Cabrillo College in Aptos, CA Building 300 by farmers market
Tuition: $175 with financial aid available
register here for the winter session.
And new this year….Games and Puzzles for students in grades 3 and 4 accompanied by parents during the Math Circle!
En español
Para estudiantes de grados 5 a 8
1 de febrero al 29 de marzo de 2025
El Círculo de Matemáticas de X Academy es una reunión entre profesores y profesionales de matemáticas de nivel universitario con estudiantes que disfrutan de la resolución creativa de problemas y las matemáticas desafiantes más allá de su nivel de grado.
Sábados 10:00 a 12:00 del mediodía
Cabrillo College en Aptos, CA Oficina 300 cerca del mercado de agricultores
Tuición: $175 con ayuda financiera disponible
regístrese aquí para la sesión de invierno
Y lo nuevo de este año... ¡Juegos y rompecabezas para estudiantes de 3.º y 4.º grado acompañados por sus padres durante el Círculo de Matemáticas!
X Academy takes 3rd Place in the MATE ROV World Championship!
Thirteen students from 6 different Santa Cruz County high schools competed against 38 teams from 11 countries.
The Hephaestus Robotics team demonstrated their engineering talent at the MATE ROV World Championship competition in Kingsport, TN June 20-22. We couldn’t be prouder of this team - who persevered when their float failed, practiced hours upon hours to get their engineering presentation down tight, and had a ton of fun learning with each other in the process!
The Hephaestus Robotics Team received perfect scores on their engineering presentation and marketing poster and earned 285 out of 370 points for the demonstration of their: ROV (remotely operated vehicle) "Talos IV" and float "Vulcan III” completing mission tasks replicating real-world applications of ocean conservation and ecosystem protection.
Congratulations to Amber, Ben, Bennet, Blaise, Cole, Daniel, Kai, Matt, Max, Nate, Orlando, Sophia, and Uriel.
Thank you to our partner the Santa Cruz County Office of Education, for giving these students the opportunity to develop impressive engineering, design and problem-solving skills while boosting their confidence and sparking their imagination. Thank you to all our donors who contributed over $40,000 to fund our trip. And special thanks to the mentor volunteers for tireless dedication to the development of these future problem solvers and engineers!
Summer Math Circle Camp July 8-12 in Watsonville
in partnership with PVUSD Expanded Learning was a blast!
Eighteen students in grades 5 through 9 enjoyed a full week of challenging and fascinating mathematical theory and problem-solving July 8 - 12 at Sequoia High School. With funding from PVUSD Expanded Learning and support from the Santa Cruz COE, the X Academy organized its first-ever Summer Math Circle Camp. Designed by Zandra Vinegar, of Brilliant.org, in collaboration with Joshua Zucker, co-founder of Julia Robinson Math Festival (JRMF) and support from Kelley Barnes, of Morgan Hill Math Circle, we created a joyful and challenging week for students rom PVUSD schools - Alianza, WCSA, Valencia, Ann Soldo, Aptos Jr. High, as well as Linscott, Ceiba, Westlake and Nature Academy. A key goal is building a math community where we are all learning together. The focus is not about finding the ‘right’ answer, but rather asking the question that has yet to be explored. Zandra and Josh mentored two academic coordinators, Dallas Guerrero, a Pacific Elementary teacher and Jasmine Todd, who just received her Masters degree from UCSC and is on her way to City University of New York to pursue a PhD in Mathematics. Rounding out the team were recent high school graduates, Timothy Scott (Aptos High) and Kai Herbst (Kirby), and rising junior Veronica Gonzalez (Oasis High).
X Academy - PVUSD partnership hosted 80 students for math festival
On Saturday October 28, 2023 more than 80 students (grades 3rd thru 8th) and their parents enjoyed an afternoon exploring the joy of math through puzzles and games at Rolling Hills Middle School in Watsonville at a Julia Robinson Math Festival. We plan to host another Festival in the Spring 2024. If you want to bring a Julia Robinson Math Festival to your school, we can show you how!
Sign up for our mailing list
to receive registration updates for the Santa Cruz Math Circle,
Math Festivals and the Robotics Team
The X Academy is 501(c)(3) nonprofit formed in 2014
to provide STEAM enrichment programs to kids in the Santa Cruz County region.
Founded by Tim Sylvester, the X Academy was inspired by the Math Circles operating in Silicon Valley. Tim sought to bring these same opportunities to kids closer to home in Santa Cruz County by forming the X Academy with encouragement from Dr. Paul Zeitz, co-founder of the San Francisco Math Circle.
Since launching the Santa Cruz Math Circle in 2014, we’ve organized 93 weekly math sessions for 441 students from 62 different schools in Santa Cruz and Monterey County, thirty-eight percent female and one-third from traditionally underrepresented communities of color. The X Academy has hosted six Julia Robinson Math Festivals.
While the Math Circle was upended by the pandemic, the X Academy pilot tested a Robotics Program by preparing a team of 10 students from 3 schools to compete in the Underwater Robotics Competition in 2021 when the team placed 7th in the World Competition, telepresence division! In 2022, the robotics team of 20 students from 8 schools with the help of 10 mentors placed 3rd in the Monterey Bay Regional competition. The team won 2nd in 2023, qualifying them to compete in the World Championship where they placed 5th out of 32 teams from around the world - an amazing accomplishment! Recognizing the value of STEM experiences we created, the Santa Cruz County Office of Education entered into a partnership for the X Academy to expand to Watsonville to include 52 students from 15 schools across the county with 15 mentors. This county-wide team went on to win 3rd place at the MATE ROV World Championships in June, 2024!
The X Academy is providing Santa Cruz County students with the kind of STEM programs readily available to Silicon Valley students. With your contribution, we can grow our programs and provide scholarships to talented students who otherwise cannot afford these opportunities.
The X Academy receives funding from the Santa Cruz County Office of Education, the Monterey Peninsula Foundation
and the Sylvester-Meister Foundation
and individual donations from parents, friends and family.