Mathematics

Maths Pathways

The Mathematics staff and I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of the parents who came along to support the Maths Pathway Information Nights which occurred in Weeks 2 and 3. It was an opportunity to build valuable links between the Mathematics teaching staff and the parents of the Year 7 cohort.

As discussed on the information nights, the ‘Parent Portal’ is a feature of the program which allows parents to access various features including:

To access the Parent Portal, Parents/Carers will need the access code that has been given to students to take home. If Parents/Carers have not received a code, please contact the classroom teacher.

We look forward to working together to best support the learning needs of each of our students.

Mathematics Tutorials

As we begin another school year I would like to remind Parents of the fantastic opportunities that are available to students to advance their learning. The first of these is Mathematics Tutorials, which are held  every Wednesday afternoon from 3.20pm until 4.30pm. During this time students are afforded the opportunity to:

Complete homework

Work on assessment tasks

Refine Learning Logs

Create study cards

However, the most value from this time can be obtained from identifying area/s that a student is finding difficult and asking their teacher for targeted work to assist the student to develop their skills and knowledge in that area/s.

Students should be reminded that success in Mathematics rarely comes from talent alone. The real determinant of success comes from the degree of effort that the student is willing to dedicate to their studies. One such quote which supports this notion comes from Vince Lombardi,  who reminds us that "the dictionary is the only place that success comes before work. Work is the key to success, and hard work can help you accomplish anything”.

When speaking to Parents (or students) about devoting structured study time to Mathematics, a question that often arises is ‘how long should my child spend studying?’ The response to this varies depending upon the individual student's stage of study. As a general guide, the following is  recommended:

An important and noteworthy aspect of the table above is that this time is allocated as ‘study time’ not homework time, meaning that any set homework is to be done on top of the recommended time above. The study time is devoted to advancing student learning in areas that a student shows deficiencies and can be done in a variety of ways, (some of which are listed in the dot points above).

Mr Kurt McPherson | Mathematics KLA Leader