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Mathematics
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Many of our students have put their skills in Mathematics to the test by taking part in a range of competitions this year. Nearly 30 of our Years 7-10 students participated in the Australian Maths Challenge. This is a very demanding competition which requires students to demonstrate high-level problem-solving skills. Congratulations to Zhenghong Shen (Year 9), who was awarded a High Distinction, and Tyra Arthur (Year 10), Swathi Bukkapatnam (Year 9), Irene Wu (Year 7) and Candy Zhu (Year 8), who were awarded Distinctions.
Despite our plans for the Australian Mathematics Competition being interrupted due to a COVID-19 lockdown, 42 of our talented Years 7-12 students sat the test. Additionally, ten teams were entered in the Have Sum Fun Online competition, which provided students with the opportunity to develop their collaborative problem-solving skills. At the time of writing, we look forward to receiving news of our students’ achievements in the AMC and HSFOL competitions. Apart from our involvement in these nationally accredited activities, students have benefitted from a number of in-house initiatives.
Fifteen of our exceptionally talented students took part in the Accelerated Mathematics program, where they were vertically timetabled into a higher year level of Mathematics. Students entering this program complete their compulsory studies in Mathematics by the end of Year 11.
A new initiative this year has been Year 7 Maths Project-Based Learning. This has challenged students to apply their knowledge and understanding of Mathematics to a real-world scenario. Taking into consideration supply and demand, budgets and expenses were determined, to ensure their group would be able to generate at least a 60% profit margin for their wholesale food businesses. As a culminating activity, students had the opportunity to create and sell their meals to their customers, and once they deducted their expenses, were delighted to be able to donate $280 to Helping Hands. Congratulations to Mrs Johansen and her Year 7 Maths team who made this large-scale enterprise a resounding success.
MR STEPHEN SISSON HEAD OF MATHEMATICS
