On Tuesday the 18th of July the first maths games day between the four selective entry schools was held at MHS. Around 45 students from Nossal, Suzanne Cory, and MacRob arrived to compete in a series of mathematical problem-solving tasks and maths games. The day began in the R rooms where all the budding mathematicians formed teams with students from the other schools to get to know each other a little better. But soon it was back down to business; everyone got back into their school teams, and the competition began. The first part was a problem-solving session. It was evident from the looks of concentration and enthusiastic discussions that everyone was getting into what we may call the spirit of mathematics—the determined and unyielding drive to solve an unknown problem, no matter how difficult.
After this everyone enjoyed a well-deserved morning tea provided by our canteen while Dr Mordini officially welcomed our guests. The second session involved a series of maths games, played both in teams and as individuals. These games included the numbers game from the game show ‘Letters and Numbers’, in which teams had to work together to form a target number from six given numbers using only the basic operations. Then it was off to the CHES building to relax and listen to a guest lecture by former MHS maths teacher Mr Morgan Levick. His talk, titled “Experimental and Creative Mathematics”, proved stimulating and insightful to all present. After lunch, the final and most exciting part of the day ensued. The three year levels took turns in competing in a problem-solving race in Memorial Hall, in which teams had to solve a series of problems one at a time while running up to a marker’s table to get their answer checked, only getting the next question if the previous one was answered correctly or three attempts were exhausted.
We are proud to announce that at the end of the day MHS emerged victorious in all three year level divisions, despite some strong competition especially amongst the year 9s.
The events were overseen by the Maths Competition Manager Ms Felicity Rusden and run by President Nathan Wong and Vice President Tom Yan of Maths Extension Group of Melbourne High School. We are extremely thankful for the help and support of the many people who made the day possible, especially Dr Mordini for supporting the idea from the start. We hope this inaugural event will become a recurring one in the coming years and continue to encourage close collaboration and friendship between the four selective entry schools.
