R.C. Murphy Junior High School eighth grader Benjamin Wu and seventh grader Oliver Wu have been accepted to the Institute of Creative Problem Solving for Gifted and Talented Students at SUNY College at Old Westbury. 

These students are among 85 students who will pursue the study of mathematics and its applications. To qualify for this honor, the 85 students that were selected for the institute’s three divisions competed against approximately 550 of the top-ranking students recommended by educators from public and private schools on Long Island. Selection by the institute implies that a student is among the top one-tenth of 1% in math of all students on Long Island in his or her grade. Acceptances were based on four criteria: school transcript, teacher recommendation, a brief statement written by the student and a rigorous entrance exam. 
 
The curriculum covers mathematical topics of algebra, geometry, discrete math and number theory, in addition to topics not included in the standard courses of study. These topics include problem-solving applied to probability, theory of finite differences, science applications and mass point geometry.