Year 9 student Hendrik Enslin is the winner of an international maths competition that had 120,000 students participating from 28 different nations.

But Hendrik is not alone at the top of his field.  In every age-group category, a student from Cornerstone has placed in the top ten.

The competition is named the International superTmatik Mental Maths Competition.  Created by the Eudactica publishers, the contest has become a key event in the teaching of mathematics and has a global following.

The main objectives of the championship are to promote interest in mental maths and to discover and publicise aptitude in mental calculation.  From the results, it appears that Cornerstone has a great breadth of talent.

Students participated in a first round competition earlier in the year, with the highest scoring pupils from each country in their age group chosen to play in the online International Final that was held on the May 17.

According to College Math’s teacher, Mr Will Meyer the College’s results are amazing, but not entirely unexpected.  ‘Eudactica’s superTmatik Mental Maths Competition showcased only one student per age group.  Cornerstone Christian College has several students in each year group who are working at this level,’ he said.

He continued by saying, ‘Exposing our top Mental Math students, from Year 2 up to Year 10 to an international arena and achieving these world class results is only testimony to students, parents and teachers working diligently toward excellence in education.’  He offered his congratulations to each participating student and believes that they have brought great honour to Cornerstone.

Hendrik completed his challenge a massive 14.74 seconds ahead of the nearest rival, Rachel Hewitt from the United Kingdom.  WJ Meyer came in second only to a student from Portugal.  Sisters, Eilidh and Caitlin both placed fourth in their respective age-groups.  A total of 9 categories were battled over, with 10 Cornerstone students placing in the top 10 in the international final.

The competition will become an annual event on the Cornerstone calendar.

Today saw the students at the College brushing up on all things Mathematical, at the annual Marvellous Maths Day.

Primary students from Years 1-6 were involved in a number of activities, and parents and grandparents were invited to be a part of the fun.

From Smarty Maths and Six Shooter, to Shopping and Snakes & Ladders - it was surprising to see how many games were on offer that involved numeracy in some form or another.  Each class divided into teams and rotated through the activities with their guests in tow.  Prizes were on offer and parents were seen to be quite competitive!

A large number of visitors came along for the fun, which was especially appreciated by the students.

The day was a tremendous success and thanks goes to Mrs Strutt and the Primary teaching team, who organised and co-ordinated  the event.

Each year, the Australian Mathematics Trust hosts a National Competition which aims to give students an opportunity to discover talent in mathematics.  Schools nominate students they wish to have participate and their skills are then tested against others from across Australia.
 
The students at Cornerstone Christian College have performed exceptionally well according to recently released results, and 10 students all gained Distinctions or higher in this test of mathematic skill.    The College is incredibly proud of the recognition these exceptional students are gaining at a National level.
 
Year 5 student, Jack, has received a percentile rank of 99 out of the students who have participated.  He has been part of the College’s Overdrive Program for the past two years, which has allowed him the opportunity to work beyond his traditional year level.  Overdrive has been successful in aiding Jack and other students like him to reach their potential.
 
Joining Jack with exceptional results in this recent competition are students from all year groups within the College.  Students from Year 5 to Year 12 have participated and in each year group a participant has been honoured with well above average results.
 
The vision of the Australian Mathematics Trust is to challenge and encourage Australian students in their understanding of mathematics and to realise their intellectual potential.  Those from Cornerstone who participated have undoubtedly been positively influenced by their participation and will soon be in receipt of their certificates of recognition.

The Year 7 students have been given a chance to explore the practical applications of Mathematics.

Under the direction of class teacher, Mr Geoff Howes and student teacher, Mr Graham Dixon, students were asked to use Maths concepts to plan a successful tree-planting program.  Participants were required to calculate area, determine the required spacing between trees and then use these figures to establish how many trees were required for a particular sized piece of land.  The Year 7′s made an initial visit to the site to peg out the area they would use.

On the first day of Spring, students left the classroom and made their way to the designated area.  Mr Dixon, whose background before teaching was in forestry, gave the students all the information required to successfully complete their task.   A variety of tree seedlings were planted and soon a forest of Australian natives should be standing in what is currently an empty field.

Maths in the real world.

The primary students at Cornerstone have been utilising an on-line Maths program over the past few years which has been tremendously successful.  Classes access the site during College hours, but then students have the opportunity to access it from home for additional progression.

Three participating students were recently acknowledged as attaining exceptional concept mastery.   At a recent assembly the students were presented with a special certificate in recognition of this excellence.   The College is thrilled with their results and pleased that they have been acknowledged in this way.

208 students from Cornerstone have accessed this program during this year which has been a great vehicle for academic improvement.  A recent report detailed that students utilising this program have experienced an average 58% improvement on the concepts it contains.  The curriculum based material complements other maths learning within the classroom but has the advantage of rewarding students with online certificates and program based rewards to encourage further progression.

Deputy Principal, Mrs Edie Strutt was on-hand today to recognise those who have done exceptionally well.  Great work!