Australian Mathematics Competition The Australian Mathematics
Cantamath The Cantamath Competition is an annual competition run by the Canterbury Maths Association. Now in its 51st year, the competition is an exciting combination of problem- solving and athleticism which takes place in Wolfbrook Arena. It is a competition format which has been replicated widely across New Zealand and Australia. This year, the students chosen to represent Christ’s College at Cantamath were: • Year 9 – Oliver Fisher-Starzynski, Nitin Keswani, Sam Moore, Tim Zhao, Lucas Hu, Kingsley Lee, Sichong Wang, and Harrison Tapper • Year 10 – Tony Lu, Felix Liu, Angus Laing, Alex Johnstone, Lucas Zhang, Hugh Davis, Thomas Kerr, Sam Pilbrow, and Thomas Eyre-Walker. All teams had a good showing, with one team unlucky to miss out on the ‘golden ticket’ of 100 points, with the correct solution for the final question in the runner’s hand as the timer ran out. University of Otago Junior Mathematics Competition The junior maths competition is an annual event for Years 9–11 attracting about 10,000 entries from about 250 schools each year. It is a two-part contest, with the first being an online multiple-choice and short answer exam, and the second being a paper exam limited to the top 15% of participants from the first part. The following students were recognised in their year groups. Year 9 Nitin Keswani, Sam Moore, Tim Zhao, and Joshua Padayachee received a Distinction award for being in the top 15% in the year group. Year 10 Hugh Davis, Alex Johnstone, Thomas Kerr, Tony Lu, and Lucas Zhang received a Distinction award for being in the top 15% in the year group. Year 11 Bill Cross, Marco Howe, Bill Li, Paddy Newton, Michael Rankin, and JJ Wada
friends and relax and generally seem to feel at home. Often, about 50 boys just hang out downstairs talking, watching videos together, drawing, and reading books. They just seem very happy here and we’re glad to have been able to make this a space for the boys. Emma Stilwell Librarian MATHEMATICS & STATISTICS Curriculum matters We spent a significant part of the year adapting our junior programmes to increase academic rigour and create formal opportunities for students to explore real-life situations. The Year 11 prep courses were refined based on our reflections from last year and guided by student feedback. The Diploma courses were then adjusted to ensure students were well-equipped to choose a prep course and experience success within their chosen course. Subsequently, the Year 9 programme was adjusted to include more maˉtauranga tau | number and taurangi | algebra content. Our senior programmes were adjusted slightly to best meet the needs of our current students. Our department has worked collaboratively this year to ensure we are providing the best opportunities for student learning and success. We plan to continue refining our programmes next year. Scholarship We have created an opportunity for interested students to work on Scholarship Statistics and/ or Scholarship Calculus in a collaborative way. We purchased textbooks for students to borrow and had an ‘open session’ once a week for students to work on content together. Our plan for next year is to formalise this programme further and we will be able to offer tutorial- style teaching and support for both Statistics and Calculus. Mathematics competitions College students have gained a pleasing array of results in our
regular competitions again this year, competing locally, nationally, and internationally. Kangourou sans Frontières The KSF competition is inspired by the AMT’s Australian Mathematics Competition, and is now the largest maths competition in the world, with more than 6 million participants each year. A High Distinction certificate is awarded to a student who is in the top 3% of their year and region for juniors and top 5% for their year and region for seniors. In the intermediate division for Years 10–11 students, JJ Wada was awarded High Distinction. In the senior division for Years 12–13 students, Jack Hastie was awarded High Distinction. The following students gained Distinction awards, recognising their responses in the top 15% of results for Years 9–11 and top 20% of results for Years 12–13. Year 9 Nitin Keswani, Tiger Wang, Tim Zhao Years 10–11 Thomas Kerr, Felix Liu, Lucas Zhang, Bill Cross, Marco Howe, Bill Li, Paddy Newton, Joshua Shannahan Years 12–13 Sam Bennett, Ryan Gu, Aaron Kwak, Mike Ma
received a Distinction award for being in the top 15% in the year group. New Zealand Maths Olympiad The NZMO consists of two rounds. In the first round, students complete an exam in their own time. The second round is an invitation-only, three- hour exam. The Maths Olympiad is a very difficult competition, with only a small percentage of students invited to take part in the second round. The questions are designed to stretch a student’s Mathematics skills, logic, and abstract thinking. JJ Wada was awarded a Bronze Award, placing him in the top 50 in New Zealand for all age groups, and in the top 10 to 15 students for Year 11. Amanda Lester HoD Mathematics and Statistics PHYSICAL EDUCATION & HEALTH The College Physical Education & Health Department has had a very busy year with the transition of facilities following the completion of Upper West and the Upper field. The year began with the department teaching out of the old gym, pool, and using the Quad, with Upper West and Upper not available. In the April school holidays, the department offices were relocated to Upper West and the classrooms, weights room, and gym space was prepared for Term 2 use. Upper West provided a wonderful teaching space for staff and students to enjoy. At the start of Term 4, Upper was open for use after being restored. By the end of the year, College was making the most of the new facilities for the teaching of Physical Education & Health. Staff changes During the year, there were several staff changes. We welcomed Director of Sport Benn McBrearty, who also taught junior classes. In Term 2, we farewelled Lionel Randall who left College to take up a boarding role in Tasmania. Ashleigh Ward took over his classes for the remainder of the year, having joined us in Term 1 as a teacher trainee. In Term 3, Rob Clarke went on sabbatical with Matt
Thatcher taking over as Acting Head of Department and Liz de Lautour taking Rob’s classes. The department also welcomed Heidi Koning as a PE reliever in the second half of the year. Achievement Overall, the PE & Health students are still achieving at a comparable, and, in some cases, better levels when compared with similar schools around the country. Our dedicated PE & Health staff ensure that students can develop their physical skills in a variety of contexts, linking the theory and developing personal and social skills. The Diploma course allows for expanded learning contexts, both practically and theoretically, to provide students with broader experience. In the senior years, students continue to work hard and give their best in the internally assessed subject. Lachie Short continued the run of PE Scholarship success, being awarded an Outstanding Scholarship. Around the classrooms The Year 9 programme includes both PE & Health, with students experiencing a range of physical contexts, from aquatics to basketball, and softball to futsal. In the classroom, the focus was on factors that could influence an individual’s overall hauora, with topics such as nutrition and vaping. With the restricted facilities in Term 1, all Year 9 classes completed an extended aquatics programme on swimming development, life-saving skills, and water polo. All Year 10 Diploma students are expected to complete the Fitter Me and Health courses, and then choose between Invasion Games and Classic Games. The compulsory courses ensured that all students learnt about personal wellbeing through fitness and health issues that influence one’s overall wellbeing. The optional courses allowed students to experience a variety of physical contexts while looking at the sociological issues with regards to sport participation and the theory of skill learning.
Competition is an annual fixture involving students from more than 30 countries. It is an engaging 30-problem competition that demonstrates the importance and relevance of Mathematics in students’ everyday lives. High Distinction is awarded to students whose results place them in the top 3% of results in the country. This was awarded to Nitin Keswani in Year 9, JJ Wada in Year 11, and Jack Hastie and Ryan Gu in Year 12. The following students gained Distinction awards, recognising their responses in the top 20% of results for Years 9–11 and top 25% of results for Years 12–13. Year 9 Matt Bennett, Lucas Hu, Sam Moore, Joshua Padayachee, Tim Zhao Year 10 Thomas Kerr, Angus Laing, Felix Liu, Tony Lu Year 11 Jordan Li, Paddy Newton, Ericsson Ye Year 12 Richard Brown, Aaron Kwak, Mike Ma Year 13 Nicholas Sharr, Angus Whitteker, Peter Wu
50
51
Christ’s College Canterbury
Register 2024 Academic
Made with FlippingBook interactive PDF creator