The following Year 7 and 8 students have shown outstanding diligence toward their studies so far this year. All of these students have been recognised as Maths 200 Club members multiple times for having demonstrated 200% or more growth in a 2 week cycle. Almost half the students in Year 7 and 8 have achieved this standard at least once this year. It is wonderful to recognise that this list of students includes those who have always achieved highly in Maths as well as those who have, in the past, believed that Maths was too difficult for them. Our program allows students to work at their own level. With the support of their teacher and parents students can demonstrate real growth through their own consistent efforts.

Phoebe Broome (4), Samuel Byrne (4), Belle Lochrin (4), Ryan Malecki (4), Danielle Molloy (4), Natalija Barac (3), Liv Bendall (3), Jaimi Chapman (3), Lauren Davies (3), Bridget Fairs (3), Hayley Few (3), Annabelle Fitch (3), Jack Harrison (3), Talika Irvine (3), Amelia McCarthy (3), Robert McLean (3), Samia Mouawad (3), Olivia Oke (3), Matthew Page (3), Andrew Percy (3), Riley Power (3), Mia Ryan (3), Fiona Sarkar (3), Benjamin Seibright (3), Oscar Tunney-Roberts (3)

If you would like to learn more about our Year 7 and 8 Maths Program a short video introducing parents to it can be found here.

Learning From Videos in Maths

For a number of year now videos of teachers explaining concepts or delivering learning content have been very useful in the Maths classroom. Videos allow students to use rewind/replay to watch and listen again to things they are struggling with. They virtually have a teacher at home with them to assist them. Videos can also give students an alternate way of understanding a concept. Videos allow students to catch up on taught content if they are absent from school. Year 11 and 12 students all have access to Edrolo. This is a platform which uses videos of experienced Maths teachers presenting concepts whilst asking the student to answer questions along the way. Wide use of past HSC questions further students understanding. At St John’s, we ask that students always write notes when watching any video. The teacher in the video should be treated as the teacher in the classroom, when concepts are being explained then students should be taking notes as they would in the classroom

Sometimes videos are used to enable “flip learning” where the students watch/listen to a teacher and take notes at home and then come to class to actually work with the new concept (flipping the traditional pattern of learning). In this way they have the teacher on hand when they are tackling the more difficult questions that they may be required to answer.

Mr Mark McKinnon
Maths Coordinator