February 27th saw the eagerly anticipated return of Maths Week. Whilst the talk of the staffroom was whether the oncoming Book Week or Science Fair would see an even larger banner for the front of school, the students were eager to learn about the upcoming challenges in Maths.
Each day, bleary eyed secondary form groups split into their island communities and faced a series of early morning challenges centred on logic and mathematics. Students in Year 7 to 10 also spent lessons in the ICT labs navigating their way through an on-line Mathematics learning package and challenged students from round the world in quick-fire mental maths quizzes. All students were given security access to this site from home and it was pleasing to see so many take advantage of this limited opportunity, spending considerable amounts of time on independent study.
Snakes n Jenga.
Maths Week climaxed on Thursday afternoon in the activity sessions. Again, in community teams, the secondary students competed in fun mathematical games, involving football, Jenga, word spellings / definitions, basketball and Snakes and Ladders.
Staff and students alike became absorbed into a most pleasurable and educational afternoon which was enjoyed by all. Here are some of the comments:
“I enjoyed the part when we got to work collaboratively to gain points. It exercises teamwork and leadership which makes us a better community!”
Word Play.
“I really liked the basketball as it was a race and you had to answer quickly and work well as a team. We had to use our brain and then run and shoot basket hoops.”
“Spelling was challenging and we got a lot of points and bonuses, especially when we matched correct definitions!”
“A great way to improve teamwork, and to make maths more enjoyable.”
“I would love it if we did it every year.”
…and so we shall! A big thank you to all involved in both preparation and execution to make it such a fun and stimulating afternoon.
Target Numbers.
Samet Victors – the winning team.
Basket Cases.
