Mathematics

The Numeracy Program at Chatham aims to provide students with a solid grounding in mathematical skills and understandings while developing their confidence and enjoyment in the area. We encourage students to see themselves as mathematicians by engaging their interest in problem solving challenges and relevant investigations.

Students at each year level engage in activities that help to develop:

knowledge of number facts and technical skills
an interest in mathematical ideas
increasing depth of conceptual understanding
the ability to apply what has been learned to solve real problems
the ability to conduct investigations using mathematics
the ability to communicate in clear and precise mathematical language
measuring and estimating skills which includes using calculators and computers

A great variety of mathematical activities take place throughout the school to encourage the students’ engagement in their mathematical learning. These include:

in term one each child in P-2 participates in an Individual Early Numeracy interview with their teacher. This allows the teacher to quickly know the child’s level of understanding of maths
students use equipment such as counters, dice, money, cards, shapes, rulers, blocks, clocks, scales, protractors, abacus, calculators, games…
as well as using concrete materials, students are encouraged to mentally manipulate mathematical ideas
parents help with weekly rotation groups, particularly in the measurement area
Family Maths Nights
Whole school Mathematics focus days
Open-ended questions and tasks are used to stimulate higher level thinking
Year 6 students sit the University of NSW Mathematics Competition
each year a team of 30 students (mostly Year 6) enter the Mathematical Olympiad competition
students carry out investigations and projects to explore different mathematical concepts