Numeracy at Magill

Numeracy Parent Workshop

Friday 2nd September, 2022

This morning the Parent Engagement Committee were excited to present a workshop for parents on Mathematics. Helen Booth, from the Mathematics Association of SA, delivered an engaging presentation that covered the research behind teaching mathematics, and the important messages we can give our children.

Helen discussed the importance of talking Maths within the home and including children in the mathematics conversation. At school, we include 'number talks' into our Maths lessons, to provide students an opportunity to discuss their thinking pathways and how they might tackle a Maths problem. At home, you can include number talks as you think about converting measurements in cooking, or discuss 24-hour time.

The attitudes and dispositions that children bring to learning are also extremely important. Not only in Maths, but across all learning areas, we are aiming to build resilient learners who accept challenges as opportunities to extend themselves. In classrooms, we promote and engage students with the Mathematical Mindsets, developed by Jo Boaler. 

It's important to encourage your children to not give up on the first challenge, that learning is hard sometimes, but with persistence and perseverance, students will gain new understandings and make connections with their learning.

After an enlightening presentation from Helen, the students of parents in attendance joined the group and taught their parents how to play a Maths game that they are currently engaging with in their classrooms. Students loved the opportunity to teach their parents and share their learning, and the room was filled with laughter and joyful discussions about the games.

Each parent in attendance went home with a Maths goodie bag with resources to continue their support of Maths in the home. In addition to this, each parent took home the game their child demonstrated, and the resources to play it.

We hope that taking these resources home inspires our families to engage in Maths with their children and supports our families to understand the why behind what we do. 

We look forward to providing additional Maths parent sessions in the future, and sincerely thank all who attended today's workshop.

If you're looking for further information on the teaching of Maths and how you can support your child, head to the Magill School website and look for the Numeracy page, under Teaching and Learning.  

Kasey Thorne and the Magill School Parent Engagement Committee