Saying Farewell to Mr. G

After 30 years of teaching mathematics to upper school students and coaching our award-winning Math Teams, the legendary Anatoliy Gulimovsky retired from BPC at the end of this school year.

Mr. G, as he was known to all, was celebrated by our community past and present at a Goodbye Party on June 1. Mr. G was an exceptional teacher and personality who cared deeply for his students and believed that every one of them had the makings of a mathematician. All it would take is effort.

 

For many students, Mr. G’s math classes were transformational and led to a love of math that continued on through high school and beyond. Mr. G coached our award-winning Advanced Math Team and the Accelerated Math Team, pouring time and energy into preparing them for five annual competitions - California Mathematics League Contest, Mathcounts, the National Math Club Competition, All-Star Mathletes Competition, and AMC 8.

This year, the BPC Math Team came in first place at the 2026 East Bay Chapter Mathcounts Competition and advanced to the State Competition where they placed 15th out of 40 teams.

His classroom walls are adorned with student math awards from 1996 to 2026 and in 2008, he was chosen by the Mathematical Association of America as a winner of the Edyth May Sliffe Award for Distinguished Junior High School Mathematics Teaching.

 

Mr. G chose BPC because of a desire to teach at a small school with a strong sense of community. Over the years, he focused on differentiated math instruction to reach diverse groups of learners, allowing students to work at different speeds, levels, and using different approaches to bring out the best in them.

 

Many people believe Anatoliy sprang to life fully formed at the same time as BPC itself. But he had a life before Math Club. Born in the Ukraine, he began his teaching career at the Vinnitsa State Pedagogical University before moving to Zambia, where, believe it or not, he was an avid (and competitive!) soccer player on his school’s teacher team.

Lower school P.E. teacher, Coach Michael, recalls when he first met Mr. G. They were playing soccer and Mr. G checked Coach Michael into a shrub. All it takes is effort!