News

Best wishes to you all for a peaceful family Christmas, a happy New Year celebration and a great holiday! December 2013 / January 2014 In this edition of the News you will find:   News Flash: Ina Is NOT Retiring   ...Tradition Continues   LegoŽ and Maths   Menu Maths Article   Lilydale High School Plans MWA   Tasks of the Month Task 188, Arithmagons 1 Task 194, Arithmagons 2 Please feel free to distribute this information. Email News Services If you would like to subscribe please send an email request to: doug@blackdouglas.com.au: In the subject line write Subscribe Maths. In the body of message state which divisions you want to subscribe to, or simply write Subscribe All. Add your name and preferred email address. Update messages are sent from: Mathematics Centre monthly Calculating Changes bi-monthly Maths300 occasionally Working with Mathematics Centre will help you find your way around our site Browsing Hint Use the View/Zoom options of your browser to 'move' the page closer or further away. Ctrl +, Ctrl - and Ctrl 0. Ina Is NOT Retiring You may have read or been told that Ina is retiring and that the Mathematics Centre distribution service would be handled by another company from 2014. Well at the last minute, those arrangements didn't work out. That's business ... but Ina immediately decided to postpone retirement for now. For over a decade Ina Koetsier has been winning friends in schools across the world for the incredibly effective and efficient service she has provided as Distribution Manager for Mathematics Centre. Behind the scenes too she is equally known and respected by the scores of suppliers with whom she works to ensure that stock is always on hand. Many of our supporters have talked through their needs with her over the phone and the lucky ones have been able to catch up face to face at various conferences, especially the December Conference of the Mathematical Association of Victoria. Preparing multiple sets: Area of a Triangle. Dozens of Maths With Attitude kits off to Dubai. With Neville de Mestre, creator of the Mathematics Task Centre concept. Displaying at the MAV December Conference. So folks, you can look forward to a little more of that dedicated support to mathematics education as the...

• Tasks of the Month
  Two new cameos this month.
  The Task Cameo Content Finder has been updated to include these tasks.
  • Arithmagons 1 is a well known number puzzle format with a strong emphasis on questioning, reasoning, justifying and communicating mathematics. In this context it encourages mental arithmetic and leads into generalisation, the concept of proof, and flow charts. The cameo includes the contribution last month from Matt Skoss's Year 7 class who developed 'their own way' of solving these puzzles.
  • Arithmagons 2 is a partner to Arithmagons 1 which develops by asking What happens if we change the starting shape?. As with its partner this task also encourages mental arithmetic and offers similar, but in some ways more refined reasoning challenges. Both tasks are linked to the Calculating Changes threaded activity Number Shapes which explores number bonds by putting numbers at the corners of shapes.
      
  Click a photo to access its cameo, or access all current cameos through the Link List below.

Link List PD from MC Six Day Courses: Primary & Secondary Menu Maths Maths With Attitude Cube Tube on You Tube Cube Tube on Mathematics Centre Task Cameo Library (191 tasks listed) Task Cameo Content Finder Mathematics Centre Home - Bookmark this page. Did you miss the Previous News? If so you missed information about: Professional Development Matters Much Less Friction With Fractions Cube Tube Updates Arithmagons Insight New Use For Rotagrams Iceberg Information about two Tasks of the Month (Tasks 171, 172) ...and more...

Did You Know? You can Search Mathematics Centre. Our Site Map acts as a Table of Contents to help you find what you need in Mathematics Centre. You can find photos of every task using the Task Library. You can find tasks by content using the Task Cameo Content Finder. Calculating Changes offers Content Finder & Year Level Finder tools. You can find tasks coded by Year Level and Curriculum Strand in the Task Centre Catalogue. (PDF file) You can search for lessons by Year Level, Curriculum Strand, Lesson Features & Keyword at Maths300. You can connect Tasks to their Maths300 companion lesson using Tasks & Maths300 (a PDF file). Excel version provided by Pymble Ladies' College All these links, and more, appear in Working with Mathematics Centre (a PDF file).