Gifted Education

 Term 3 has been a busy term where students across Del Monte and Gioia House have taken part in a range of exciting activities within and beyond the curriculum to meet and extend their learning needs. 

Australian Mathematics Competition

Each year the Australian Maths Trust holds the Australian Mathematics Competition which is the nation’s longest running and most well-known maths competition for school students. The competition is designed for high achieving mathematicians who get the opportunity to challenge their thinking through tackling unique problems. This year, 22 of our students across grades 4-6 entered the AMC and they are all congratulated on undertaking a very challenging competition. 

A special mention goes to those students who achieved very highly.

Distinction
Annabelle Wong (Year 6)
Renhou Hu (Year 4)
Jay Park (Year 4)

Credit
Isla Choi (Year 6)
Emily Ng (Year 6)
Michelle Ho (Year 6)
Leah Zhu (Year 5)
Alefed Jin (Year 4)
Ashton Chung (Year 4)
Liam Nguyen (Year 4)
Claire Yang (Year 4) 

The Prime Minister’s Spelling Bee

We are very proud of the fantastic spellers we have across our Primary Campus and so we entered them into the 2024 Prime Minister’s Spelling Bee competition, where they battled it out with students across Australia spelling words such as ‘finicky’ and ‘aviary’. Our students recognise the power of spelling in helping them to build a rich vocabulary. Congratulations to the following students who made it to the State Finals:

Annabelle Wong (Year 6)
Jay Park (Year 4)
Kira Tang (Year 4)
Aria Leung (Year 4)

Australasia Problem Solving Mathematical Olympiads (APSMO)

Working mathematically is an essential part of the Mathematics syllabus which is embedded in the outcomes and content we teach each day. The working mathematically processes present in the Mathematics K–10 syllabus are:

  • communicating
  • understanding and fluency
  • reasoning
  • problem solving.

This year, many students across Primary have been embracing mathematical problem solving through the Maths Quest, Maths Explorer and Maths Olympiad contests, as well as through targeted grouping. By engaging with problem solving, students have learned important group-work skills while developing real-life problem solving skills. Our students have now competed in four contests across the year. Each week, APSMO releases a Problem of the Week which is a great way to keep flexing those problem solving muscles. 

Book Club

This term a group of resourceful Year 4 students have started a Book Club in which they devise activities each week for students across the school. The Book Club not only entertains students while giving them a structured environment in which to interact, but it gives the organisers opportunities to develop their leadership and communication skills. This fantastic initiative is supported by Mrs Meehan and Ms Carmada. 

Classroom differentiation – spotlight on Year 1

Through assessment and targeted differentiation teachers ensure that students are engaged in learning experiences that meet their needs and spark their interest. This term, Year 1 students have been engaged in Reader’s Theatre where they get to practise reading and performing at the same time. Lot’s of fun was had when groups presented to each other, giving specific feedback which will help students improve next time. 

Brooke Panagopoulos
Gifted Education Coordinator P-6