Last year it was noted that “… as enrolments continue to grow, we have been ale to attract highly qualified and experienced Mathematics teachers in a very competitive market”. Once again, we have been able to welcome such a teacher, Amanda Brown, to our ranks. She brings a wealth of industry experience and experience of the New South Wales Higher School Certificate, as a marker, to freshen-up our approaches to teaching Mathematics. She has proven to be a very capable replacement for Michael Lewthwaite, who retired at the end of last year.
In other staffing developments, we have been very pleased to have Emma Bishop and Milanda Roxas assist and advise teachers in setting assessment items and modifying programs for students with different needs. Such students, indeed all students, have access to additional support through Tutoring each Tuesday and Friday lunchtime in Room 228.
Once again, we have had some stunning performances in the Australian Maths Competition. We congratulate Isabella Clark (Year 7), Therese Brooker (Year 8) Krithika Bumia and Bella Pope (Year 9) for their Distinctions and Angelique Fittler Van-Tilburg (Year 7), Leah Shoebridge (Year 9) and Ishita Gupta (Year 11) for their High Distinctions. In fact, Ishi has been identified “as potentially eligible for the Australian Maths Trust’s Cherly Praegar Medal” which is awarded to the highest achieving female student in a year in Australia. What a fine achievement! We have also continued our Maths Enrichment program which is open to all students interested in higher-order thinking questions, each Friday after school in Penola Flex. It runs until 4:30pm.
In curriculum news, we have been working on what is known as the Fine-Grained Curriculum which is aimed at ensuring that all students have access to the same curriculum, lesson-by-lesson. We have also been busy implementing the Catalyst Program which is designed to deliver high-impact lessons using the Science of Learning and Cognitive Load Theory. This means, among other things, that teachers have become much more proficient at getting instant feedback from students so that they can address learning needs in real time, rather than waiting on summative assessment.
We have supported other schools who are unable to provide teachers for Specialist Mathematics courses in Years 11 and 12. While those schools have qualified staff, it is more economic for them to use the Merici College Virtual Learning platform. Colleges that are currently enrolled are St. Clares, St. John-Paul College and St. Edmund’s College. Training has also been given to two other Mathematics teachers at Merici, so we are well situated to expand this exciting program.
We have much to look forward to in 2025, with the development of Classroom Mastery routines and the evolution of high-impact teaching. We are also seeing significant growth in the number of students taking higher-level Maths courses in Year 11, which is an excellent outcome for the College.
Dr. Ed Mickleburgh
Mathematics Coordinator
