The Mathematics staff are excited to be back for Semester Two, 2017.
The semester has gotten off to a cracking start with over one hundred students from Years 7-12 participating in this year’s Australian Mathematics Competition. Held on the Thursday and Friday of Week 2, the competition challenged students with increasingly complex problems covering a broad range of mathematical disciplines. The girls came out of the competition buzzing about which questions were tricky, what they tried and what they would do differently in the future.
On Monday 1 August, students from the University of Canberra presented their findings on the usage of Mathspace at Merici College. The presentation addressed the analysis of qualitative data collected during semester one of this year. While there are areas for future focus, the feedback has overwhelmingly supported our first six months of implementation; the girls are growing in confidence and understanding and are using Mathspace to become better Mathematicians!
The big take-home message? We, the teachers, students and parents, need to help all our girls to recognise that a “Yellow Tick” is a good thing. It means you are on the right track and just need to simplify or write your answer in a mathematically conventional form. (Phew!)
I am personally thrilled by the dedication and generosity of our staff members who regularly donate their time to ensure our Merici girls have the best opportunities to grow and learn in Mathematics. The revised Group Tutoring timetable now caters to students four days a week with sessions before, during and after school. These FREE sessions can be attended by any student who wants help to improve their skills and understanding or, who just wants to have some extra time to get homework or study done with a Mathematics teacher on hand to help with any tricky problems. Students are required to sign on when attending but don’t have to pre-register for a session.
The proposed timetable is as follows with classes to be held in the Pentony Centre or as advised:
Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday
Morning (8:10am-bell) H Walker H Walker G Ryan G Ryan
Lunch R De Puit I Soeker R De Puit T Lyons
Afternoon (3:45-4:45) F Game T Lyons H Walker
We hope that all our Merici College girls have a great semester, growing in knowledge and capacity in Mathematics!
Huckleberry Walker, Mathematics Coordinator
