Maths

MAV Games

On the 6th of September, 8 year 9's and 10's headed to Balwyn high to compete in the annual Mathematics Association of Victoria (MAV)'s games.

This day consisted of many fun and challenging games and activities, testing our logical and mathematical thinking.

Our team (the year 10s), being Zoe, Liv, Max, and Jamie, entered the games as defending champions, having won first place in 2023. The challenges tested all of our mathematical skill and ranged from logic puzzles to individual math games competed against individuals from other schools. We went into each challenge with teamwork and strategy, knowing that every token counts. As the day progressed, the puzzles and games got harder, especially as we approached the end of the competition. The other teams pushed us to compete at the highest level to the best of our ability, and the stakes were high with all the pressure to come home as back-to-back champs but we knew we could do it as long as we stuck together and gave it our all. The ultimate surprise came when the results were announced: we hadn't won, we placed 2nd. However, after a recount of tokens it became clear that we were the winners. We had accumulated the most tokens and ended up in 1st place once again, securing our position as back-to-back champions! Our year 9 team who competed for the first time gave it their all and came away with 4th. On behalf of our team, well done to everyone who attended!

By Liv and Zoe

The Mathematical Association of Victoria (MAV)’s maths games day was a very fun and challenging experience for me. We went in teams of four, my team consisting of myself, Max, Olivia, and Zoe, and competed against teams from other schools in a variety of puzzles and games. The aim was to have as many tokens as possible at the end of the day. We won these by working as a team to solve puzzles and competing against other schools in maths-based games to steal their tokens.

I found that it was a great experience to put my maths skills to use in a collaborative environment and work as a team to solve the puzzles, some of which were quite challenging. It was also really fun to play all the games and compete for TC. One highlight for me was a game that we played in partners about drafting a team of characters with different amounts of health and attacks that could damage the other team. It was really fun to find good synergies between characters that would deal big amounts of damage. One member of our team figured out that by using a move that did only 1 damage to an enemy with 1000 health and then using an attack that multiplied the digits of the target’s health together and did that amount of damage, we could do 9 x 9 x 9 = 729 damage in a single attack, a massive amount. 

We went into this event as defending champions, as our team won the event last year in year nine. I felt a bit pressured to defend our title and beat the other teams. At first it looked like the other Templestowe team was going to beat us, but in the end, we came out on top and won the competition for the 2nd year in a row. It was very exciting and I’m glad we were able to represent TC well. Overall, this was a really fun event that I would recommend to anyone who likes maths, puzzles, or games.

By Jamie

Australian Mathematics Competition

This year 48 students at TC took on the challenge of the Australian Mathematics Competition. This is the long running, largest and most well-known competition for school students. Since 1978 many students have entered the competition, including some current staff!! The AMC tests students across all areas of mathematics, but with an emphasis in problem solving. We are thrilled that so many took on the challenge and proud of our students efforts! ✖️➕➖➗🟰

Australian Mathematical Olympiad

I, along with seven other students at TC, have recently had the privilege of participating in the Australian Intermediate Mathematical Olympiad (AIMO). It is a very challenging maths competition that consists of ten questions done over four hours. The paper is pitched at very strong year 10 students but can be attempted by anyone in years 7 to 10. It was wonderful to see five students in years 7 and 8 participating in the competition and achieving some very good results.

Students can participate in this competition every year until they reach year 10, and there are plenty of practice materials available that help with preparation. TC’s maths enrichment club runs every Friday after school in B07 where students can practice for competitions with the help of tutors. I sat the competition last year as well, and after doing some preparation in between, I think I have done better this year.  I have found that doing some questions from previous papers is really valuable and helps you get to know the types of questions in the competition.

Students that achieve excellent results in the Olympiad are invited to lots of other great opportunities, such as training camps at Melbourne Uni with other talented maths students. These camps are great fun and can help expand your mathematical knowledge to potentially represent Australia in international competitions. Even if you are not interested in these, the Olympiad is still a great way to enhance your problem-solving skills and introduce you to some topics not taught in the standard curriculum. If you are year 7-10 and like maths, practicing for and participating in this competition could be a great opportunity for you.

By Jamie Sarisky