Maths News

 

The Maths faculty will once again be offering our Maths Boost program this year. 

Maths Boost is a weekly, after-school, 1 hour program where students from any year level can come to Rees House for additional help with their Maths. Maths teachers and tutors will be in attendance each week to provide assistance to students. The program runs on a Tuesday night from 3:15pm to 4:15pm. Teachers will often suggest to students to come to Maths Boost for additional help, or, students are welcome to voluntarily attend for extra assistance. We look forward to seeing many students at Maths Boost this year!

All students need to have a calculator as part of their studies of Mathematics. Students in Year 7, Year 8, Essential Maths, Wide Horizons, Making Our Futures and VCAL Numeracy will require a scientific calculator. All VCE students, as well as students in A Focus on General and Mystery of the Unknown will require a TI-nspire CAS calculator. We have booklisted the CAS calculator for our subjects that specifically lead to VCE classes, so that students can learn how to use the calculator prior to starting their VCE studies. Please arrange for your child to have their own calculator to support their studies in class.

Students will be using Mathspace across Years 7 to 12 this year to help demonstrate evidence of their learning. Mathspace is an online program which students can use to complete tasks assigned by their teacher. Mathspace also includes access to a full textbook to help support student understanding. Currently, access is free, but by March, parents will need to pay $25 for annual access. Stay tuned for further information!

Finally, students will need both an exercise book (workbook) and a logbook for Maths this year. The ability to create and maintain a logbook of notes and theory is a critical skill for success in VCE. Therefore, we promote the use of logbooks in all year levels so that students can learn through experience how to effectively summarise and prepare notes for their benefit. Students will be permitted to use their logbooks for many assessment tasks this year. A logbook can be a simple exercise book, either A5 or A4 sized. Successful students often maintain and refer to a logbook across multiple years of studies at the College.

If you have any questions about the Mathematics program at the College, please contact either your child's Maths teacher, or you can contact me at any time via phone or email: oud@wantirnacollege.vic.edu.au.

Thanks

Mark Oudshoorn

Leader of Mathematics and Whole School Numeracy