A whole day dedicated to maths – the thought might send a shiver down the back of many a spine, however new Head of Mathematics at Hanford, Mark McSweeney, planned the day in such a clever way that it was hugely enjoyed by all. Certainly the Hanford maths team pulled out all the stops last Thursday to mix mathematics with merriment with great effect. Varied and various challenges were set before the girls and, as always, they rose to the occasion.
Year 8 were introduced to newly established ‘Hanford Jewel Exchange’, an exchange that is surely soon to rival London, New York and Hong Kong. They set up investment companies, bought and sold jewels and followed the market. There were many cries of joy and despair at the vagaries of our local jewel market as prices rose and fell. Some of our investment companies did very well though!
Continuing the business and finance theme, Year 7 girls became entrepreneurs, setting up small businesses running ice cream vans. They had to work out start-up costs, running costs and determine the best price at which to sell their ice cream. Of course, for quality control purposes, the product had to be sampled!
Our Year 6 girls exhibited their Hanford gung-ho sense of fun with a semaphore activity – a system of sending messages by holding arms or two flags in certain positions according to an alphabetic code. They learned the code and were tasked with passing messages to and fro across the school lawn. There was much laughter, and perhaps some confusion, but spirits remained high even when showers look likely. The girls came up with the idea of signalling the school’s name to the world!
Pupils in Year 5 explored the art of Piet Mondrian which involved careful use of straight lines and right angles. His art requires the greatest discipline and focus and our artists did a tremendous job. And finally our youngest pupils made their business contribution by working as greengrocers, weighing and categorising vegetables in preparation for creating nutritious packages for potential customers.
Rory Johnston, Head of Hanford, said “Behind all the fun was a serious motive; the need for sound mathematical skills is an essential requirement for every girl at Hanford. Numeracy is an invaluable life skill underpinning everything from managing a bank account to running a company. A fun activities day like this, focused around mathematical skills, will help the girls move through the school and beyond with confidence and a sense of achievement.”
The girls had a great day, Clara inYear 8 said“It was a really fun experience and it was educational” and Blanca added, “It was so much fun and showed us how to work in teams.”
Categories: Hanford School
