It has been a busy year for Linwood College math students and teachers. We have done many exciting new things to boost our learning and engagement. Both inside and outside the classroom.

Integrated classes have started this year with Mrs Huxtable from the Maths department teaming up with Miss Katene from the Health/PE department to deliver a unit of work to all the year 9s. This unit involved the students learning to measure accurately, convert units of measurement, calculating area and perimeter and drawing to scale, all in real-life settings including a trip to the city. While the students were in the city they measured specific spaces, analysed and recorded the area's impact on wellbeing and drew the area to scale. They then worked out the area and perimeter. At the end of the unit the students finished with a scale drawing and report with recommendations based on their findings.

The teachers have been exploring ways to ensure the students' maths lessons are engaging and focussed on learning. One of the ways we have done this has been the teachers from the Mathematics Department have been undertaking a number of sessions with the DMIC team this year. There were also professional learning and in-class support/mentor sessions. DMIC stands for Developing Mathematical Inquiry Communities. This is a tool for delivering math lessons which focuses on the student working in groups, learning from each other and deepening their knowledge. Learning and understanding themselves by coming to their own discoveries rather than completely teacher-led.

DMIC, as well as a mixture of hands-on activities, integrated classes, and regular assessment and certificates has made mathematics at Linwood College continue to grow as an engaging, relevant and learning focussed subject and course.