Messages from the Assistant Principal
Mathematics
Over the last month, St Kevin’s staff have been viewing bi-weekly 45 minute professional development on the draft Australian Mathematics syllabus. The NSW syllabus is also in review and must incorporate the Australian outcomes.
There are some significant proposed changes. There is no mention of the traditional vertical written algorithm in the primary years.
Personally, this is something I am very pleased to hear. It is difficult to teach children how to mentally calculate addition, subtraction, multiplication or division if the only thing they can “see” is a written algorithm. Generally, it is the “go to” strategy for the majority of students. Usually only the more gifted students recognise that it is an inefficient way of calculating mentally. Fractions and decimals have a much more prominent focus in the draft curriculum with more content being introduced into the early years. One of the biggest changes, is the introduction of computational thinking from Year 3. This is new! Whilst it will formally enter the curriculum in Year 3, elements have been added to the early years to build competence and transition thinking into working with algorithms ( not of the type shown above). Focus on critical and analytical thinking is important in a world where coding impacts on our lives daily.
We are currently 7 sessions into a twelve part series. We also have 2 x 2 hour Mathematics Professional Development scheduled in the coming 6 weeks ( all after school hours, of course). As I have stated before, the current focus of our School Improvement Plan is Mathematics and ensuring teacher pedagogy is reflective of best practice. I can assure you that staff are very committed to self-improvement and your children.
Community and Fun
Doesn’t lockdown just suck the fun out of everyday life? It certainly makes it difficult to maintain a sense of community. Something we all miss so much. So, for a little fun and to continue to help build those connections with school, we are running a little “Guess how many lollies?” competition. Every child is allowed to enter the competition a maximum of 10 times over the next 2 weeks – 1 entry daily. In order to enter, students must complete the form (see link below) and do a simple chore for their parent(s) or guardian. Twice weekly ( Monday and Wednesdays), I will post a clue on Compass.
Clue 1: There are less than 300 lollies in the jar.
