Maths Update

Our keen GHS mathematicians put themselves forward to tackle the multiple choice questions which make up the Australian Maths Competition in early August. As we've seen in the previous competitions entered this year, our mathematicians' performances were strong, with the certificate winners being; Charlotte Taylor, Pippa Saywell, Pippa McKeown, Lance Brodina, Ella McDonald (Year 7), Ashley Looman, Ben Morton, Grace Worner, Billy Nelson, Addison Campbell (Year 8), Agam Bhatia, Chamodhi Assaddume Gedara (Year 9), Althea Smith (Year 10) and Henry Prouting (Year 11). The majority of certificates won were impressively at proficiency level, with Henry Prouting’s credit award being the highest awarded in the school.

In the NZAMT Senior Mathematics Competition, the premier New Zealand mathematics competition for students in years 11 to 13, Serenity Pullman-Stewart (year 13) gained a certificate for her performance against the challenging problems which require fully explained and carefully reasoned mathematical solutions.

That's the final round up on the great year GHS mathematicians have had in competitions in 2023. Ka pai on your enthusiasm, commitment and achievements.

Getting a graphics calculator for NCEA Level 2 and Level 3 mathematics courses in 2024

All students taking a mathematics course at Level 2 and Level 3 next year will be expected to have access to a Casio graphics calculator (either the fx-9750 or fx-9860). These are invaluable in the internals and externals, and include functions which allow students to quickly, and with minimal effort, solve equations, work out probabilities based on distributions, and perform numeric integration. Without a graphics calculator, working through questions involving these kinds of skills will be much heavier, laborious and time consuming for students. Our Level 2 and Level 3 courses assume students will bring one of these calculators to class, and the use of them will be taught in lessons. It's fair to say that they are not inexpensive though, particularly sourced through the most familiar suppliers (e.g. OfficeMax, Warehouse Stationery and Mighty Ape), with the list price of the fx-9860 being around $180 currently. We therefore strongly recommend considering picking up one second hand from the usual places online such as TradeMe, or a purchase from this website https://www.come-here.co.nz. Here you can find the fx-9750 available for prices starting at around $80 - a considerable saving over the typical price.

Getting ready for externals with our support

We are excited about GHS mathematicians building on their existing successes in the internal assessments in the upcoming externals. The mathematics department is keen to support students in their final preparations during study leave and in the final run up to the exams, and we will generally be available to support students in the usual senior lesson slots on the timetable between now and the exams. It is a good idea to drop us an email at least the day before you plan to come in for support so that we know to expect you, and can check off in advance if there might be any issues. Of course, we're always here on email too for any queries or support too.

Good luck in your exams everyone.