This term our Mathematics and Numeracy team were acknowledged on the big stage, with our team invited to present at the Principal’s Conference on Monday 29th July. Mooroolbark College was selected to present to show the impact our working relationship with Rolling Hills Primary School has had on supporting our students’ transition from Grade 6 to Year 7, with respect to Numeracy.
Throughout the presentation we highlighted our:
- Numeracy Program
Our Numeracy Program at Year 7 and 8 incorporates work on open-ended activities designed to develop their critical and creative thinking skills. Students also complete a reflection on their progress and the skills used to complete the task. This metacognition, or “thinking about their thinking”, is an important aspect of the program.
- Focus on Student Learning Growth
For our Year 7 to 9 students, we are working hard on increasing student confidence in Maths. To help with this we are completing pre and post-tests to highlight the growth shown by students throughout the topic. Our motto of “All students can achieve growth” highlights that all students who work hard and apply themselves are capable of improving their understanding.
- Learning Goals Program
It is important for all students to have some voice and agency over their learning. Our Learning Goals program encourages students to identify an area of their understanding that needs improvement, set a SMART (Specific, Measureable, Attainable, Relevant, Timely) goal and access resources to help them work towards achieving their goal. When a student achieves a goal, they get to add their completed goal to Learning Goals tree.
- Strong VCE results!
Did you know we have some of the highest results in the region for General Maths Our VCE Maths teachers have worked hard to improve the consistency, delivery and rigour of our Maths subjects, helping students to achieve higher than expected based on their GAT expected score.
Numeracy Interventions at Mooroolbark College
We are now well into Term 3 and I’d like to take this opportunity to remind you about the many numeracy interventions we have at Mooroolbark College to support all of our students.
Club ¾
Every Tuesday and Thursday afternoon form 3pm – 4pm students can attend our Club ¾ in the Wellbeing Centre. Learning Mentors and Teachers are present and will be available to assist students with revising concepts covered in class, unfinished classwork or homework and any upcoming CATs. This is a great opportunity for students to complete any schoolwork with the support of teachers.
Numeracy Mentor
We have a dedicated Numeracy Mentor who works in classrooms to support our students to understand concepts in class and complete any class tasks. Our Numeracy Mentor fosters students’ understanding and engagement within the classroom.
Tutoring Program
This program is external to a scheduled class. Students will be working in small groups with a Mathematics teacher to reduce the learning gap and clear up any misunderstanding’s students may have in Mathematics. Our Tutoring Program is intended to boost student confidence in Maths and increase their level of knowledge and understanding.
Pathways and Electives
Mathematics at Mooroolbark College is uniquely designed to support students at any stage of their academic journey. We have electives from Year 9 through to VCE tailored to suit the learning endeavours of our students. At Year 9 students can select Building Maths confidence or Investigate Maths, leading to electives from Numearcy to Advanced Mathematics at Year 10. In VCE and VCE – VM students can undertake, Numeracy, Foundation, General, Methods or Specialist Mathematics. Additional information about all of these subjects can be found in the relevant student handbooks.
If you have any questions about our Numeracy Interventions, Pathways or Mathematics at Mooroolbark, please contact me at kara.salmon@mooroolbarkcollege.vic.edu.au.
KARA SALMON
MATHEMATICS KEY LEARNING HEAD
