January 2022 Newsletter

So, its (finally) 2022.

How are you feeling about the new year? With scientists predicting an end to Covid as a pandemic – it is exciting to think about what this year will bring!

Our usual January webinars will be happening in the first week of February.

Attend any of the webinars to receive a free Sharp scientific calculator. (Sign up here).
1 Feburary @ 20.00: Teaching High school Maths in 2022 with the Sharp EL-W535SAB.
Repeated – 2 Febuary @ 10.00
2 February @ 20.00: Teaching Technical, AP and IEB Maths with the Sharp EL-W506T.
Repeated – 3 February @ 10.00
3 February @ 20.00: Teaching primary school maths in 2022 with the Sharp EL-W535SA and the S25.
Repeated – 4 February @ 10.00
Sign up to join any of the sessions here. Repeated sessions will also be via webinar for those who can’t make the first session. The webinar sessions will also be available to watch on our YouTube channel the following week.

We have so many exciting things lined up for this year, and I can’t wait to start sharing them with you.

Over the holidays I revamped the rest of our grade 10 study guides – they include notes, examples, exercises and solutions. They are free to download from Maths @ Sharp. I have just started on our grade 12 ones, so keep an eye on our facebook page for when they come out. (The analytical geometry chapter should be available soon).

The Maths Journey has started with a series of grade 7 worksheets. The topic of whole numbers for term 1 is now available to download.

I am a lover of puzzles so I was very excited to read about research that shows the link between spatial skills and maths skills. What is interesting, is that the link is independent of grade level and gender level. This means that we need to be encouraging students to play with puzzles, building blocks and even video games to improve their maths skills regardless of their grade or gender. Tangram puzzles, lego, duplo and even magnetic tiles also help with spatial skills and problem solving.

Clever Minds has recently launched a maths subscription box for grade 4, 5 and 6 students. The box includes activities and exercises, games, craft activities, hands on Maths tools, tips, tricks and helpful notes for parents and all of these helpfully follow the CAPS curriculum. Each monthly topic has been specifically chosen to bridge a known gap in the South African curriculum. For more information you can visit the Clever Minds Page.

Answer to October’s Riddle:

A car is travelling at 100 km/h. How many metres does it cover in 36 seconds? First – we need to break down the speed into meters per second. So 100 km = 100 x 1000m = 100 000m. To find how many seconds in an hour – 1 hour x 60 minutes x 60 seconds = 3 600 seconds. Now to find the rate of m/s we say 100 000 / 3 600 = 27 7/9 m/s. To get our answer – we multiply by 36 seconds to get an answer of 1000m.

January Riddle:

What is the smallest whole number that is equal to seven times the sum of its digits? (I found this riddle on Readers Digest).

We hope you enjoy your first (or second) week back at school. I look forward to seeing you at the webinars (remember to sign up here), or maybe even in person (if you are tired of webinars and would like a direct school session – let me know by completing this form.)

See you soon,
Tal

Oops – almost forgot:

For more back to school funnies follow this link.