Over the past five years Cornerstone has been honoured to have Miss Marilyn Smoker as part of the secondary teaching team.  She is held in the highest regard and her students achieve great things in her care.

Marilyn holds a Bachelor of Education (Secondary) with a major in Mathematics and a minor in Science (Human Biology) from Curtin University in Perth.   She is responsible for a large part of the Mathematics teaching at the College.

Marilyn is highly competent, very approachable and has a delightful sense of humour.  When asked about what she enjoys most about her position, she stated; ”I love being the centre of attention, working with teenagers and I LOVE Maths!”   Marilyn’s outstanding skills as an educator can be quantified by looking at the results of students she is teaching.  The performance of Cornerstone students in National testing and TEE exams is testament to her abilities.

Marilyn loves having music playing whilst her students work.  At times she will allow them to choose a song, and if it is appropriate she will play it during class.  She finds that for many students, the music provides a good environment for them to complete their work.  She does get an amount of teasing from some students who will vocally object to Miss Smoker’s taste in music, but this fun element to her classes add to the approachability and popularity of this Maths master.

Homework is an important part of the path to success with Mathematics, and at the beginning of each week the homework requirements for the coming 7 days are established which will be marked at the beginning of the following week.  Each section of work completed within class has an assignment to be completed before testing occurs, and this is when Marilyn is able to check to ensure students understand the concepts covered.  She believes that if homework is completed there is a greater chance of understanding and remembering the concepts covered in class.

To aid in this, the textbooks used with the Year 8-10 classes have a homework book which is directly related to the text.  For instance, if the class performs a particular exercise within school time, they will cover the same material in their homework for the week which reinforces the concepts taught.  This material is supported further with a companion website which allows the student to revise at the end of each chapter.

Currently there is a move in Maths Education away from the reliance on calculators, so this is a focus in classes at Cornerstone.  Further to this, Marilyn believes that the ‘working out’ process is often more important than the actual answer. The students are modeled the correct working out and then encouraged to use the same procedure when completing questions. Marilyn is firm in her desire to have her students understand the process involved in solving Maths problems and will take measures to ensure that students adhere to her instructions.  She expects that if a student doesn’t understand that they will ask for help and take some responsibility for seeking appropriate assistance when necessary.

In addition to her teaching, Marilyn has also been heavily involved in organising the School Ball and Graduation Dinners.  She is a terrific organiser and the success of our Senior School Ball in recent years can largely be attributed to Marilyn’s commitment to excellence.

Cornerstone Christian College is thrilled to have Marilyn as part of the teaching team,  and she is a key contributor to the academic success of our students.