The start of Term 2 is always a time for us to reflect on what we have already achieved and what is yet to be done to maximise the understanding of Mathematics for our students. The Mathematics staff have had discussions at each year level to review how we have presented information, and how could we do this better in the future. It is important that we teach the girls in a way that allows them to see the progress of their skills and understanding of topics from one year to the next. This year we are checking that the girls are maintaining their skills by pre-testing them at the start of each topic to identify any gaps in their memory of what they were taught the year before. In addition, we are using regular quizzes to practise the girls’ basic skills dealing with Number at the Junior levels and also Algebra in the Middle years.

This term, we are well into the Mathematics competitions that are run by several organisations for students throughout the country. In Term 1, three of our Year 12 girls, Ying (Stella) Liu, Lily Trosdal Ryan and Yuwei (Sophie) Ying, attended ‘Big Data Day’ at Monash University. The theme of the day was to envision Melbourne in 2050 – a very relevant and important topic for discussion – and use their skills in Mathematics, Business and Economics to develop strategies and plans to ensure that our society will be well equipped and informed for 2050.

Year 12 students Ying (Stella) Liu, Lily Trosdal Ryan and Yuwei (Sophie) Ying attended Big Data Day at Monash University.

The day definitely honoured its name as a challenge for all, but it was a fantastic opportunity to collaborate with students from different schools across Melbourne, and to become familiar with new, emerging technologies and industries that are at the heart of their futures: business analytics, data analysis and actuarial sciences. Yuwei (Sophie) Ying’s team, which worked on the Business Analytics problem, won their section and she was presented with a windcheater to celebrate.

Yuwei (Sophie) Ying (second from the left) with the winning Business Analytics team.

We also had many girls from each year level sit the Computational and Algorithmic Thinking (CAT) competition towards the end of Term 1. Students are given one hour to complete six multiple choice questions and three other questions which increase in complexity. Below is one of the questions from the Years 9 and 10 paper that you may like to try.

Question 6 from the Intermediate Level of the Computational and Algorithmic Thinking competition.

This term we have several more competitions; the University of Melbourne School Mathematics Competition, the Mathematics Challenge, and the Australian Problem Solving Mathematical Olympiad. Next term we have the Australian Mathematics Competition and the Mathematics Enrichment program set by the Australian Mathematics Trust.

Staff News

We were delighted to hear that Ms Katy Johnson had her baby, a son named Toby Alexander, on 22 March. She is now settling in to her new life as a mother. We all wish her joy and not too many sleepless nights!