“Events like these not only promote a love for mathematics, but also encourage critical thinking and problem-solving abilities among students, a skill for life.”
TGS maths students unleashing their creativity
Term 2 has been a busy one in the Mathematics department; from multiple year levels having extended assessment tasks to competitions run inside and outside the School.
Using mathematical equations to recreate artwork
The Year 11 Mathematical Methods students got a chance to be very creative with their assessment - using numbers to reproduce artwork.
The boys visited the 2024 Grammar Art Show in Term 1 and were given the task to reproduce a chosen work using their knowledge of mathematical functions and their graphs; with some artworks more complex to reproduce than others. A tricky task when each student had to select a unique piece of art.
With a significant limitation of only being allowed to use 20 lines, the boys did a fantastic job at thinking outside the box to recreate their chosen piece.
Enjoy the gallery below to see the progression of some of the boys' recreations.
Queensland Association of Mathematics Teachers' Problem-Solving Competition
Last month, students nominated themselves for the Queensland Association of Mathematics Teachers' annual problem-solving competition. This gruelling two-hour test required the boys to solve a variety of problems individually and had the highest participation rate that TGS has seen to date, with over 80 boys taking part across Years 7 to 12. The papers were sent away, and a lot of the boys are eager to see how they went.
Darling Downs Maths Teams Challenge
On Tuesday, 7 May the Darling Downs Maths Teams Challenge was held at St Ursula’s College and saw an array of schools from around the region participate in both a team and relay event across three divisions (Junior Years 7 and 8, Intermediate Years 9 and 10, and Senior Years 11 and 12). This event proved to be a challenging yet rewarding opportunity for students to showcase their mathematical skills and creativity.
TGS entered two teams of boys in each division and were given a special TGS tunnel as they headed off to the Challenge.
The TGS A team came away as the Senior Division winners where 18 teams competed for the top spot from 11 schools. TGS B team secured an impressive 5th place in the same division. In the Intermediate Division, TGS secured notable 4th and 5th positions, showcasing their mathematical prowess. Meanwhile, in the Junior Division, the TGS A team clinched a commendable second place amidst 25 teams from 14 schools.
Year 9 classroom activity
The Year 9 cohort saw themselves venturing outside the classroom to complete their assessment tasks, where they used inclinometers and trigonometry to determine the height of the spire on top of School House – no long measuring tapes or ladders required.
Term 3 will be another busy one with big internal assessments due for our Year 12 boys, and more competitions including the Australian Mathematics Competition in August and the Australian Intermediate Mathematics Olympiad in September.
The TGS Mathematics curriculum really does have something to appeal to all.
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