7th March 2018 was #WorldMathsDay and as many countries competed for this event, our Primary School students also participated in a smaller, more exclusive competition.
Our Primary Maths Coordinator, Miss Iceni Paterson (Year 3 class teacher) spent weeks preparing for this event -- an Inter-House Mathematical Challenge, which is a fun and creative way of learning Mathematics at ISS.
Before the half term break, children were given sample questions to practice for the ISS Mathematics Challenge. After the week-long holiday, primary pupils were given a Maths quiz based on objectives from The National Curriculum of England. This quiz served as the qualifying round (similarly following the structure of the Spelling Bee).
Joining the competition was optional however, children were encouraged to give it a go for them to see where their numeracy skills stand. The two top scorers in class from each house (Darwin, Einstein and Newton) were then put through to the final. By end of February, students already know who among them were representing their class and house this year:
Inter-House Mathematics Challenge Finalists:
Year 1 – Jesse, Tristan, Ben, Platon, Dahai & Tabitha
Year 2 – Jasmine, Mark, Matt, Artem, Micah, Grisha
Year 3 – Ken, Sonic, Tao, Theo, Yong Seon, Jenna
Year 4 – Mek, Mine, Egor, Petr, Volody & Leonardo
Year 5 – Mook, Kafild, Conor, Arda, Alex & Tutor
Year 6 – Sean, Martin, Laura, Max, Sandy & Platon
Parents of our "maths finalists" were cordially invited to show their support to their precious ones. For this activity, we also aimed at guiding our pupils to take work as a team and come up with the correct answers working together. The entire challenge was about an hour long and was structured as follows:
1. Key Stage 1 group round - four students from Year 1 and Year 2 make up a team, with 3 teams competing
against each other. No time pressure, every team gets one point for every correct answer.
2. Key Stage 2 (part one) - Years 3 and 4 competition was also known as the buzzer round. Speed and accuracy was key in this round. Our participants were to solve the problem and hit the buzzer when they were confident they had the answer.
3. Key Stage 2 (part two) - Years 5 and 6 competition was the elimination. A bit like, "get it right or go home" round. Students were racing for the answer, but at the same time if they get it wrong, their team was eliminated.
It was definitely a battle of the brains! And our students were challenged with some tough questions. But they all went for it and gave it their best. In the end, the Reds claimed the glory. Congratulations team Einstein!
Many thanks to Miss Paterson who very carefully went through the process of organising the event and our Primary School class teachers who were very supportive. Finally, a huge thank you to the students and their parents for playing a very important role -- taking part in this competition.