The study of mathematics is mandatory from Kindergarten to Year 10.
It is the goal of the mathematics department that we:
- reflect compassion in our dealings with students and staff in order to promote the dignity of each person
- promote an environment in our classrooms where students feel a sense of belonging and a sense of control and responsibility for their learning
- help develop our students ability to think critically, objectively and creatively
- provide our students with the necessary skills, or give them a foundation which can be built on, to solve mathematically based problems they may encounter now, and later in their lives
- adequately prepare our students for the further study of mathematics by making sure that we follow programs and that the programs cover all board os studies syllabus outcomes and content
- encourage our students to value learning.
In order to do this, we would like each student to reach their potential in the following areas:
- mastering basic facts and operating confidently with numbers and algebraic terms
- develop a positive attitude towards their work and self-image
- be able to read and understand a question, and be able to solve a problem and express the answer in a way which could be understood by others
- be able to develop thinking strategies, which would enable them to solve problems in unfamiliar situations
- be able to develop a creative and imaginative approach to their mathematics.
Courses offered
The NSW Education Standards Authority (NESA) has written each course in stages as a 2-year course with the exception of Extension 2 Mathematics which is a 1-year course. The courses offered at our school are:
- Stage 4 (Years 7 and 8) mathematics
- Stage 5 (Years 9 and 10) mathematics: Pathway 5.1, Pathway 5.2, Pathway 5.3
- Stage 6 (Years 11 and 12) mathematics: General Mathematics, Mathematics (2 unit), Extension 1 (3 unit), Extension 2 (4 unit)
In Stage 5, the students are placed in 1 of the 3 pathways offered. These pathways are graded, 5.1 being the least difficult and 5.3 being the most difficult.
The students following the 5.2 Pathway must complete the content of both the 5.1 and 5.2 pathways. Similarly, the students following the 5.3 Pathway must complete all of the content of the 5.1, 5.2 and 5.3 pathways.
The structure of this course also enables students to study appropriate parts of different pathways – in fact, the syllabus indicates which 5.3 topics a student following the 5.2 Pathway would need to complete to prepare them fully for the Mathematics course (2 unit) in Stage 6.
General Mathematics is an applied mathematics course covering in more detail, areas such as algebraic modelling, financial mathematics, measurement, statistics and probability.
Mathematics and Extension 1 cover the more traditional areas of maths with Extension 1 being more difficult and covering all of the mathematics topics as well as some additional topics.
Extension 2 is an extra, more difficult extension, to the Extension 1 course. It has no preliminary component and is not started until the beginning of the HSC (Higher School Certificate) course during Term 4 of Year 11.
In Year 11 and 12, the study of mathematics is optional. Courses offered include:
- Mathematics Extension 2 (Year 12 only)
- Mathematics Extension 1
- Mathematics Advanced
- Mathematics Standard 2
- Mathematics Standard 1 (Optional HSC examination)
- Mathematics Life Skills.