Mathematics

MS ROBYN GIBSON head of mathematics

Marcus du Sautoy, a Bristish mathematician, author and maths and science populariser has written “Mathematics has beauty and romance. It’s not a boring place to be, the mathematical world. It’s an extraordinary place; it’s well worth a visit”. In August this year, almost 180 of our most talented mathematicians participated in the 2018 Australian Mathematics Competition. All students were invited to attend, with most of the participants coming from the Accelerated and Mathematics C classes. The following students were successful in gaining High Distinctions or Distinctions in their year group. YEAR 7 High Distinction and Best in School Li Jianxiang High Distinction Maxmilion Carr Distinction Daniel Aloysius Sidney Bradnam Ayden Charles Lucas Dell Laurie Doughtery Jeremiah Gan Ryan Hebdon Oliver Jackson Yathish Soni Tadgh Stuckey

YEAR 8 Distinction Justin Bolton Ethan Carrick Jackson Fray Brodie Graham Lachlan Hardy Murdoch Johnstone Saxon Luke Joe Madden Francois Mahu Joseph Maurice Thien Tran Sonny Walkinshaw

YEAR 9 High Distinction Jock McCormack Jack Runchel Dylan Selby Distinction Herschel Aloysius Louis Chabert Reyne Fennell Lachlan Lane Nicholas McKenzie Liam O’Connor Ewan Stanich Sam Wolfenden Harry Zdanowicz

YEAR 10 Distinction Harry Bennett Matthew Buckley Joseph Castor Vishaak Gangasandra Christian Goh Jackson Hardy Shaun Ledingham Peter Wolfenden YEAR 11 High Distinction Taisei Fuji Foster Lane Distinction Zac Cirocco Ethan Cochrane Hamish Dight Zackeri Joyce Aidan Kitchin Gregory Noonan James Smith James Ware Mitchell Wood YEAR 12 High Distinction Harrison Chen Distinction Michael Jiang Timothy Zhu

Also in August, the two Accelerated Year 8 classes sat for the UNSW ICAS Mathematics test. The following boys received scores making them eligible to receive Certificates of Distinction. Xavier Crain, Jackson Fray, Andy Hobart, Cyruss Khern and Thien Tran.

As many of you would be aware, Queensland Education is undergoing a major change with the introduction of new syllabuses and external exams. In Mathematics, our current Year 10 students have been studying a more rigorous program (in both Mathematical Methods and general Mathematics) designed to equip them with some of the necessary skills to succeed in Years 11 and 12. It is important to note that from 2019, it is going to be far more important for your son to choose the correct level of mathematics, as moving from one level to another under the new system may be detrimental.

The Mathematics faculty will be undergoing some changes in 2019. We will be bidding farewell to Mr Herlihy, a much-respected teacher and rugby coach at TSS. Mr Herlihy joined the faculty in 2014 and soon developed strong relationships with all his students. Mr Jed Hogan joined the department at the commencement of 2017 as both a mathematics teacher and rugby coach. He too, soon developed positive relationships with his students. Both gentlemen have been invaluable members of TSS community and we wish them well in their future endeavors. The remainder of the Maths faculty will hopefully remain unchanged in 2019 with myself, Mr Slattery, Dr Schouten, Mr Pilcher, Mr Hellier, Ms Inglis and Mr Baldry teaching the majority of the senior classes.

I would like to acknowledge the hard work that the teachers of mathematics from Years 7 - 12 do, giving their time and expertise to assist your son achieve his best. I look forward to another successful year in 2019.