Mathematics

RHYS KEMP

Head of Mathematics

“For scholars and laymen alike it is not philosophy, but active experience in mathematics itself that can alone answer the question: What is mathematics?” Richard Courant

Over the course of 2014 the boys at TSS have experienced many facets of mathematics in a variety of forms and environments. All Year 8 Maths classes had an opportunity to ‘get their geek on’ at Maths Camp, which I am pleased to report has been an overwhelming success. Boys spent an overnight at the Outdoor Education Centre, Dux, at South Stradbroke Island, and had the opportunity to put their classroom knowledge into practice by completing a range of real-life immersive activities such as navigation, estimation, trigonometric calculations and spatial problem-solving. Mathematical tasks in other year levels have included the investigation of randomness and subsequently generated probability formulas in Excel (Year 9); using regression to statistically predict future Commonwealth Games records (Year 10); investigating which Gold Coast suburbs offered the best real estate investment potential (Year 12A); planning, costing and preparing a delicious hot lunch (12 Pre Vocational); modelling the path of a rollercoaster using multiple functions (Year 11B); and designing the most economical bridge through a matrix manipulation of resolved vector linear equations (Year 12 Math C). We continue to cater for boys with a variety of abilities. Maths Help sessions, which ran on Thursday lunchtimes, have provided individualised help on any topic a student is having difficulty with. The Upskills Program gave boys in Years 8 and 9 the chance to develop the fundamentals in organised, targeted afternoon sessions, and the afterschool “Homework Help” sessions run from the Library have been well attended and proven beneficial. Our NAPLAN numeracy results were excellent (a TSS personal best for Year 9), with over 40% of our boys working at the highest measurable levels in both Year 7 and Year 9 compared to around 20% nationally. TSS won the Gold Coast division at the Queensland Association of Math Teachers mathematical challenge for Year 8, and Foster Lane, Harrison Chen and Tim Nicholson went on to represent extremely well in the interstate round.

Boys also were entered into the Australian Maths Competition and our combined year-level results were well above the national average in each division. Over 40 countries enter the competition and it gives our boys a chance to demonstrate their ability on a global scale. Of the students who sat the test the following students were awarded High Distinctions for achieving in the top percentiles of the country: Year 8: Jimmy Chiu, Joshua Moss; Year 9: Francis Chen, Robert McCullough, James Rutherford; Year 11: Johayer Abtahi, Mark Johnson, Cameron Kroon, Ramil Nair, Stephen Sandeman, Cameron Simpson, Oliver Snow; Year 12: Elliott Hinckesman, Chan Rae Kim, Sam Morrison, Braedan Van Der Vegt. Prizes were awarded for placing in the top 0.3% of the country. This year we have two students who have received recognition for this remarkable achievement: Yinuo Han and Ha Min Kang (both Year 11). I offer my congratulations to these students. The TSS Accelerated Mathematics Program caters for boys wishing to do their five years of secondary mathematics in four years and we presently have one class in each year level being accelerated. Some of the Year 12 students have elected to use the extra time created to successfully complete two accredited firstyear university mathematics subjects at Griffith University. Well done to these gentlemen on their diligence and dedication to their advanced studies.

This year I was fortunate to be able to visit St. Andrew’s School, Singapore and spend some time with their Mathematics teachers and observe a variety of lessons. Singapore placed second in the most recent international PISA rankings for scholarly performance and is renowned for its cutting edge technology and rigorous educational standards. It was an informative experience and I am pleased to report that TSS is truly world class is what it offers in terms of learning environments and utilisation of technology. In 2014 we welcomed Ms Robyn Gibson into TSS and the Mathematics Department as Assistant Head of Mathematics. Robyn has brought renewed vigour and has been instrumental in furthering the success of the department. Graham Herlihy, who joined us from Robina, has also been a fantastic addition to the department. His devotion and commitment to engaging the boys has been inspiring and contagious. Finally, I thank everyone at TSS and particularly those in the Maths Department for their support and devotion to demonstrating the benefit and applications of mathematics and ultimately making 2014 a memorable and successful year.