Mathematics Students Continue to Shine

MLC School students with strength in mathematics continue to enjoy opportunities offered to them by the University of Sydney and the Australian National University. This year, Vicky (Year 12) and Cara (Year 10), have been selected to take part in extended problem-solving programs designed to challenge and further motivate talented mathematics students.

The National Mathematics Summer school at ANU was established in 1969 and is the oldest and most prestigious Summer School of its type in Australia. Old Girl, Cynthia Hu (2021) was invited to mentor the new 2022 students. Vicky shares her experience below:

‘I really enjoyed the week at NMSS as NMSS has offered me an awesome opportunity to explore the scope of Mathematics outside of school. We explored Number theory and Algorithms challenged me and gave me new perspectives on Mathematics. The questions were significantly different from what we do at school and take a lot of experimentation, sometimes reaching conclusions without an exact answer. Although it was a pity that we were not able to go to ANU in Canberra and have face to face interactions, the tutors and experienced groups were able to make everyone feel welcome through the many online games and I met some great people from all around Australia, including someone who’s also doing IB and has very similar subjects with me.’

 We look forward to hearing back from Cara who will begin her journey with USyd’s Mathematical Problem Solving Correspondence Program (MaPS) this term.

The Mathematics department welcomes Alex Schroder who has taken on the role of Mathematics Enrichment teacher.  Alex will be coordinating our problem-solving programs and is introducing a Mathematics Club for talented Year 7 and Year 8 mathematics students. These sessions are designed to build our students’ mathematical thinking, communication, collaborative skills and problem-solving abilities. 

– Penny Pachos
Head of Department – Mathematics