Maths News

High Growth Scores 

Congratulations to the following students who have received high growth scores this cycle.

Student of the Week  

Mackenzie Sly 

Mackenzie Sly is a Year 8 student who has made a commendable effort in mathematics during her time at St Joseph’s. In Year 7 she was able to master 1.8 years of curriculum and this year, she has already mastered 1 year worth of mathematics curriculum. Mackenzie has enjoyed the option to select the area of maths she would like to focus on. Initially her strategy was to ‘gap fill’ any areas she hadn’t mastered from primary school. Recently she has been working on Data Representation and Interpretation at a Year 10 level. Mackenzie’s 2022 average growth, effort and accuracy are shown below as an indication of her dedication and consistency.

233% growth              111% effort            90% accuracy

I interviewed Mackenzie to find out more about why she has been so successful in mathematics.

Tell me a little about your maths journey?

I have worked hard in maths since starting at St Joseph’s. I am really glad that I was consistent throughout Year 7. I always completed my 7 modules and mini-lessons helped with this. This allowed me to catch up to the point where I am now above the Year 8 standard. The learning tasks I am completing at the moment are starting to become more challenging and are taking longer. I am still completing 8 modules each fortnight, but it means a little more time at home. Picking modules that are all in the same area makes it easier.

So how much time are you spending at home and what are you doing?

I spend a minimum of 1.5 hours each week on maths at home. When you think about it, it isn’t much really. I use this time to finish modules off and also to do a short revision session before the test.

What does revision look like for you?

Mum taught me a good revision strategy at the beginning of last year. I do a really short summary of each learning task I have completed. This includes: title of the module, any key language, my own tips about the module and an example question. I find that adding my own tips is the most useful part. For example “When adding fractions, the bottom numbers must be the same.”

What do you do when you find a module challenging?

I start by watching the module video (click the help button). Sometimes this isn’t really that relevant though. In this case, I ask my teacher or other students. Maths Pathway tells me which students in my class have completed the modules I am working on. I enjoy getting help from them.

If you could give year 7s one piece of advice what would it be?

Work really hard in Year 7, don’t muck around and think you will try harder next year. A consistent work ethic has really helped me in Year 8.

Rhys Leslie

Learning Leader - School of Reason