Learning and Teaching

Unlocking the Power of Maths

At St Roch's, we are thrilled to be participating in two exciting mathematics extension initiatives which began this term: the Maths Explorers program for Year 3 and 4, and the Maths Olympiad program for Year 5 and 6. Both of these highly regarded, rigorous programs are run by APSMO (Australasian Problem Solving Mathematical Olympiads) and challenge our keenest young mathematicians to move beyond the classroom curriculum into advanced, creative problem-solving.

Round One Complete 

Our students have already successfully competed in their first official round of competition for 2026. We are incredibly proud of how our students applied themselves and embraced the challenge, showing resilience and determination as they worked to tackle complex, unfamiliar problems. 

The remaining three official APSMO competition rounds will take place on the following dates: 

Round 2: Wednesday, 10th June

Round 3: Wednesday, 29th July 

Round 4: Wednesday, 9th September

We wish all of our competitors the best of luck as they progress through the rounds. 

Our Weekly Sessions

Following the initial formal competition round, we have begun dedicated weekly workshops to teach students specific mathematical problem-solving techniques and give them immediate opportunities to apply them to complex questions.

Each session follows a two-step process:

1. Learn the Strategy: Students are explicitly taught high-level problem-solving techniques, such as working backwards, finding patterns, drawing diagrams and logical reasoning.
2. Apply the Skill: Once they’ve unlocked the new strategy, students are given immediate opportunities to test their skills against challenge questions.

By teaching them how to think, rather than just what to think, we are equipping them with a mathematical toolkit that will equip them to tackle unfamiliar and complex problems with confidence. Thank you to Jess Mount from The Mathematical Association of Victoria for sharing her valuable knowledge and expertise in support of these sessions.

Brain Teaser of the Week

Here is one of the questions from our first Maths Oympiad Competition Round. Which strategy would you use to work it out?

Sarah is training for a big race. She decides to increase her training runs by 100 metres each day. She runs 1,000 metres the first day, and then 1,100 metres the second day, and then 1,200 metres the third day, and so on. When she has finished 10 days of training, how many metres will Sarah have run in total? 

Scroll down for the answer!

Rachel Gray

Literacy Instructional Coach and Leader

Mathematics Coach and Leader

Answer: When she finishes training, Sarah will have run 14,500 metres in total.