Mathematics

After two long years of remote learning, this year has brought with it a much-needed respite. But resistance has paved the way for persistence, and we all have come out of the hardship much stronger. 2022 has seen a novel approach to teaching. The lines of normalcy have shifted, and technology has embedded itself as an inherent part of the teaching process. What has not changed, however, is the dedication of our staff who are always willing to support our young men to achieve success. We are honoured and privileged to be a part of our fantastic Mathematics team at Mazenod. We would like to thank each member of our team for their hard work, commitment, and dedication.

In August this year, our students sat the Australian Mathematics Competition. It is an engaging competition which answers the most frequently asked question in the mathematics classrooms: “How is this relevant to the real world?” The problem-solving questions in the competition demonstrate how Mathematics is both important and relevant in our everyday lives. Mazenod had some fantastic results across the year levels that competed in the competition; 5 High Distinctions, 48 Distinctions and 124 Credit certificates. An amazing effort given this was our first time completing the competition online, well done to all award recipients. Divya Shangari and Liam Coulter

What a journey Maths has been! In Year 7 we were just finding our feet, learning simple concepts like areas, fractions and probability. As we progressed into the middle years it started to become a bit trickier and I think many of us began to realise where our strengths lie. It was great to see how the foundations we learnt in the earlier years could then be applied to slightly more complex topics. As we come to the final year of learning Maths it has been a great opportunity to reflect on how far we have come, to see questions that a few years ago would have been too difficult to understand, to now being able to master them. Maths can certainly be frustrating at times, but it sure is rewarding when you get it right! Jack Baptist

Specialist Mathematics this year has been a dense journey, covering a range of concepts from the abstractions of the complex world, to the physical and applicable in statics and vectors. To many, just the name of the subject commands a quiver. However, the dedicated staff turn the convolution into one of the more interesting and enjoyable subjects at school. As such, I find that the maths studied in Specialist Mathematics is far more interesting than that in any other stream of Mathematics. Yes, it is difficult, but if you are willing to work just a little harder for a subject you enjoy, it makes it even more worthwhile. Charles Van Rest