To start the Math Madness off on Friday 8 March, the School was represented in the Year 11 and 12 Have Sum Fun Competition at the Edith Cowan Centre in Bunbury by Year 12 students Ben Spagnolo, Nina Mouton, James Burnside, Angus Compton, Kaleb Hay, and Anastasia Drakulic; and Year 11 students Alyssa Wu, Ashley Bailey, James Galettis, Trent Jones, Anjali Pasqual and Aaliyan Siddiqi.

Both teams represented the School with pride and had great fun amongst 10 other school teams. Team 2 (Ashley, Anjali, Alyssa, Kaleb, Nina, and Ben) took out 4th place, and Team 2 (James, Trent, Aaliyan, Anastasia, Angus and Jame.B) taking out 3rd place.

Then on 12 and 13 March, the Mathematics Department, School Prefects, Home Ec. Department, and the School Executive spent time baking, bagging and boxing hundreds of Pi-shaped cookies for the Pi Day Stall on the 14th of the 3rd month (3.14 😊). This year we raised nearly $300 which we will use to purchase some mathematical teaching aids and fun stationery for our sister school in Samoa.

In addition to the cookie sale, we ran the Pi digit competition. Nathan Cook smashed it out again, beating his own record and reciting 169 digits of Pi! AND he only stopped because he had nothing to beat! WOW!

Well done to the TEAM and students for making this event successful again.

Next up was two Have Sum Fun Competitions on the 15 March.

The Year 9 and 10 Students took a step out of their comfort zone and ventured up to Rossmoyne College in Perth to represent the school in the Have Sum Competition (South Metro Division). The two teams were made up of the following students: Year 9’s Caleb Archer, Zoe Thompson, Addison Turner, Alex Vailoces, and Ellie Woodage, and Year 10s Keira Chatfield, Evan Harrison, James Mouton, Jace Osborne, Mytam Quan, and Mackenzie Turner. There were 30 school teams, and the atmosphere was ELECTRIC. Although the students did not gain a positional place (however they did not come last either), they were winners in our minds. It was a fabulous evening for the students.

On the same night the Year 7 and 8’s were representing the School that the Peel Region Have Sum Fun Competition being held at Rockingham Senior High School. This evening is very popular and we were lucky to gain entry for our two teams. The students representing the School were: Year 7’s Ethan Archer, Fraser De Mouncey, Emma Du Plessis, Lewis Liu, Connor Luxton, and Ethan Moody an the Year 8’s Charlotte Finister, Joshua Henrickson, Logan Humphrey, Kirkland Lowens, James McLeod, and Justin Mitri. 

Despite the hot competition, Team 1 (Fraser de Mouncey, Lewis Liu, Connor Luxton, and Year 8s Logan Humphrey, James McLeod, and Justin Mitri) gained 3rd place, with Team 2 taking 5th place. 

We then kicked off World Maths Day with three Jelly Bean Jar competitions taking place. Khobi Anastazjew won the Secondary School competition; Jo Brockwell won the Staff competition. For the first time, we ran an online competition, and Annika (parent of Year 1 and Year 3 students) was the winner. The participation was amazing. Next year we will be asking for a entry fee of a gold coin donation for charity 😊. 

Finally, on the 22 March we celebrated World Maths Day. Each classroom was filled with students taking part in a range of activities.

CHALLENGE THE BOSS (AKA Ms Webb): In the 'Letters and Numbers' Game
BRAIN BUSTERS: Can you solve some tricky puzzles and problems?
CRAYPOTS & CODING (Programming): Can you use your tactical skills to win the game?
THE MATHS SPELLING BEE:  Can you spell the most complex Mathematical words correctly?
BINGO - Not your normal everyday BINGO: Your math skills will be put to the test!
TANGRAMS & SUDUKO: Put your puzzle-solving skills to the test in a quiet environment

and of course the GRAND MINTIE WRAPPER CHALLENGE!

A big thank you to the Mathematics Department, Home Ec. Department, and all the staff and students who made these events so wonderful.

I look forward to making this bigger and better next year 😊

Kind regards

Carron Thornton

Head of Mathematics