Mathematics Mathematics
Mathematics is an integral part of a general education. In all aspects, it is valuable to people individually and collectively, providing important tools that can be used at personal, social and vocational levels.
Our Mathematics Faculty staff will help guide your child through their Mathematics journey from Year 5 to Year 12 with programs that are appropriately paced to allow students of all abilities to achieve their potential. In addition to regular Mathematics classes, St Rita's offers an Honours Maths program, extension classes, participation in various competitions, additional Maths tutoring sessions and a Mathematics support program for younger students who need help with fundamental skills and knowledge.
Our Mathematics program delivers the Australian Curriculum which is designed to develop the numeracy capabilities that are integral to all students in their personal, work and civic lives. The curriculum also provides the fundamentals on which mathematical specialties and professional applications of mathematics are built.
Maths lessons are designed to encourage curiosity, interest and skill-building. There is a strong emphasis within the classroom on sharing mathematical tasks in pairs or small groups to bring out the best in collaborative thinking and increase achievement.
It is an engaging program that builds on the inquisitive nature of young minds and encourages our students to develop and investigate solutions to everyday problems. Our staff monitor their emerging capabilities and build on these to help our students comprehend cause and effect of mathematical concepts and embrace hypothetical thinking.
At St Rita’s, we firmly believe in the partnership that both learning and meaning plays to understand, explore and apply mathematical concepts. Our teaching staff are encouraging of student dialogue and theory in challenging our students to think more deeply into the problems they are studying, to place solutions into context, and to assist them in developing the confidence in their own abilities to ‘do’ mathematics.
Did you know...
In a classroom of 23 students, there is a 50 percent chance two of them have the same birthday! In a classroom of 74 students, the probability increases to 99 percent! This is called the ‘Birthday Problem’. Click here to find out why and the solution.
The word ‘hundred’ comes from the old Norse term, ‘hundrath’, which actually means 120 and not 100.
The spiral shapes of sunflowers, snails and shells follow the Fibonacci sequence, where the two previous numbers are added together to get the next. (1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34…)
If you say you’re going to be “back in a jiffy”, you’d better be fast! A ‘jiffy’ is an actual length of time, equal to about 1/100th of a second.
Cooking can be mathematical too… and just as delicious. To make the best sugar cookies, follow the simple 3:2:1 ratio – or 3 parts flour, to 2 parts butter, to 1 part sugar.
In France, a pie chart is sometimes referred to as a “camembert”.
careers.amsi.org.auWhere can maths take me?
Architecture - Piera Bellanca
"There’s beauty in the maths and geometry that informs architecture. Maths has been used in design for centuries. Buildings designed with the perfect ratio create harmony and make a space work. From drawing roofs and angles to scaling plans or calculating if a window complies with size regulations, maths plays a huge role in my day."
Civil Engineering - Demi Van Den Heuvel
"There's a real buzz when you solve a big problem... That's exactly what engineers do, come up with solutions to problems. When you're landing or taking off from an airport, it's an engineer who has designed the runway to cater for traffic and aircraft types. Maths was the only subject that always made sense to me at school. Now it means I'm working on some of Australia's highest profile airport and runway projects."
Robotics - Marita Cheng
"As a child, I wondered about robots. Not if they were going to take over the world, but rather they could help us instead. My company recently launched its first robot called ‘Teleport’, a telepresence robot which takes you where you want to go, instantly. Maths is crucial to everything we do. From safety or reliability to the overall engineering of a product. Sometimes reaching a milestone makes you realise you’re just at the beginning of an even bigger adventure."
For more, head to AMSI Careers.