A circus of a different kind came to Redfield last week, with students from Years 2 to 6 attending the Circular Circus for an afternoon of engaging learning and awesome tricks. 

Game 24 is an activity which is very popular with Maths Extension Program students at the moment. It will be available in the second half of lunchtime on Thursdays in the Primary Extension Room to all students who are keen on challenging their mental arithmetic and fast-thinking skills or those who just simply want to have a go. It does not require a great deal of mathematical skill but it does aim to improve flexibility and fluency. There are a few different versions of the game but we will start with the simplest forms. With four given single-digit numbers and using one or more of the four operations (addition, subtraction, multiplication and division), you need to find a way of arriving at the result of 24. Details of the rules of the game will be explained in the first session. The Game 24 Club aims to encourage students to build up their mental maths skills through a fun-filled, entertaining activity. 

Last Friday, Year 5 created small boxes out of paper as part of our volume and capacity unit. First, we had to create the paper nets (base or outline of a shape) with the correct dimensions and sticky-tape them together. After creating the boxes, it seemed impossible to fit the correct amount of centicubes inside! However, we found that if you had the correct dimensions, you really could fit a crazy amount of blocks inside - one small box could even fit 40 blocks! 

Writing often becomes a big burden for many students mainly because they find it hard to get started and already feel overwhelmed by the task. However, when drawings come before writing, it can be a different story.