During Week 5 of Term 1, St Edward’s celebrated Maths Week, undertaking a range of activities designed to engage students in and celebrate the wide world of mathematics. Maths teachers and students from the Education Portfolio planned and ran activities throughout the week including Blackjack, Roulette, Kahoot quizzes, solving a Rubik’s Cube and daily trivia. A great number of boys participated in the activities and competitions, winning prizes and having fun along the way. Thank you to all teachers and boys in the Education Portfolio who planned the week and congratulations to all students who participated in the activities.
Next year Maths Week will be back, bigger and better and will be held in conjunction with International Pi day: 14th March.
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In Term 2 and as a part of their Graphs topic, 8MA5 combined forces with the Environment Portfolio, analysing the College data collected over 10 weeks regarding ‘Trash-Free Tuesday’. Students in Mr Marks’ class created graphs from various data collected including the number and percentage of students bringing a trash-free lunch and the number of containers recycled through the College ‘Return and Earn’ program. Students not only gained skills and understanding in creating and analysing graphs, but also realised the changes that we can make as an individual, school and community to reduce landfill and protect and preserve our planet. Great work!
This term, students in Year 8 have been studying Statistics, learning about different ways data can be analysed and presented. In order to deepen students’ understanding of the associated areas and improve their knowledge of technology (in particular Excel), some classes undertook a practical investigation into quantities of Smarties and M&Ms in fun-size packets. This practical activity required students to construct a dot plot, create an Excel spreadsheet and then calculate and compare the mean, mode, median and range of the number and colour of Smarties contained within each fun-sized packet. Students were thoroughly engaged throughout the activity, discovering what colours were most and least common, and the shocking fact that not all packets are equal in quantity!
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On Tuesday August 6, 7MA3 embarked on a challenge that will serve them in many situations across their lifetime – the ability to be able to accurately estimate distances. This practical lesson ensures that all students emerge with heightened skills in this area and have a lot of fun in the process! In groups of three, students were given a series of estimation challenges around the Quadrangle playground. Points were awarded depending on the accuracy of their estimations. By the end of the practical lesson, our winners were established, amidst a palpable sense of enjoyment from students and staff alike. Here in the Mathematics Department at St Edward’s, we are pleased to be assisting tomorrow’s drivers, builders, architects, engineers and others develop this important life skill!
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Students in Years 7-10 are encouraged to continue developing and revising their ‘Learning Logs’. Building a comprehensive summary of topics studied will benefit all students in developing a deep knowledge and understanding of concepts undertaken in the classroom. Whilst not all year groups will be able to take their Learning Log into their Term 3 and 4 exam, it still plays a vital role in the consolidation of content and allows students to continue building their capacity to create a topic summary; an invaluable skill that can be utilised in any subject.
A reminder to parents and students that all maths classes have access to Education Perfect (Years 7-10), Edrolo (Years 11-12) and MathsOnline (Years 11-12). At times, teachers will set work to be completed on these platforms, but they are also available to students to utilise as they need. It is important to remember that when using an online platform, working out (most often using a pen and paper) is still a very important part of completing the questions and should be practised.
Finally, with the HSC Trial Examinations almost completed, it is vital that Year 12 students take the feedback from their teachers to consolidate their understanding of course content and use the remaining 6 weeks of term to eliminate any ‘weaknesses’ in their knowledge. The HSC Examinations are only just around the corner and a bit of hard work will go a long way to achieving a result that you are happy with. Good luck!
Lachlan Butt
Leader of Learning Mathematics
