We love maths here at Orana and the primary faculty is abuzz with mathematical talk at the moment with two exciting events happening. Firstly, the students in Years 4-6 will be participating in the World of Maths onsite excursion on the 27th February. Their approach is all about making sure learning is fun through real-life examples, by understanding instructions and applying problem-solving skills. Hands-on activities have many benefits for students. And it’s not just about reinforcing maths concepts – their activities encourage participation, boost confidence and spark a love of learning. World of Maths cater for all abilities and there is no pressure just encouragement to ‘give it a go’. Students work together, and engage as a team to discuss strategies to help them develop problem-solving skills to build confidence in their maths abilities.
While World of Maths is for the kids, the Primary Numeracy Project delivered by Australian Independent Schools NSW is for the teachers. We have been learning about best practice teaching techniques for mathematics with an expert who will be working with our primary faculty over the year. On Thursday and Friday Fiona Walker from Australian Independent Schools NSW came to the school to showcase demonstration lessons with our classes to show us what is possible in our setting. We are very fortunate that Fiona has worked in many Steiner schools so knows our context well and has adapted the content to suit. The first component of the professional development is increasing student participation in maths classes with clever engaging strategies and ensuring we are reviewing content on a regular basis at point of need – a daily review. We are at the very beginning of this journey but have already been enjoying how these new ideas are being used across the Primary School. Celebrating success in a colleague’s classroom is a real pleasure as we learn and grow with each other on this journey.
