88 ACADEMIC Review We tackled the new syllabus head on by adding new content for most grades. We introduced the IEB grade 12 Mathematics and Mathematical Literacy Project which allows boys to do both subjects. These boys wrote all the exams in both subjects allowing them to choose the result that they would prefer for their final report. Glynnis Owen’s NBT training programme for grade 12 was most successful this year. Together, we ran evening classes each week before the NBTs and had phenomenal results and feedback from the boys who wrote them. We also devised a training programme for the grade 11 IEBT, a benchmarking test, which follows the same format as the NBTs. Roxanne Ungerer and Etienne Grundling ran a Mathematics elective for the grade 8 boys. Roxanne’s elective worked with boys who found Mathematics challenging. The programme was based on making Mathematics accessible and fun for the boys while reinforcing basic concepts. Etienne worked with the high achievers to extend them. The programme exposed the boys to the history of Mathematics, binary numbers, the olympiad and problem solving strategies and learning a programming language. Both programmes were highly successful and we will be offering the elective for grade 8 and 9 in 2015. The olympiad was very successful this year with many boys making it through to the second round. The following boys placed in the top 99 in KZN in Round 2: Grade 8 EYeo,T Lunde, R Paterson Grade 9 AVeltman, B Carmichael, B D’Eramo, L Sandy,TWood, R McConnell, S Stanton, L Traill Grade 10 S McCleave, K Smith Grade 12 M Butler,A Harvey, D Campbell, M Lundall, M van Heusden Recently, the media has taken a keen interest in the topic of Mathematics versus Mathematics Literacy. The department of education is considering making policy changes which will require learners who choose Physical Science,Accounting, Geography or Life Science to take Mathematics instead of Mathematical Literacy. Kearsney is very proud of its Mathematics excellence and, with the demands of the new syllabus and the proposed changes to Education policies, we have decided to adapt our stance towards our Mathematical Literacy programme. Research has shown that pupils who continue with Mathematics for as long as possible tend to cope better with the change to Mathematical Literacy. Our aim is to provide a rigorous programme for both Mathematics and Mathematical Literacy boys giving them the best advantage for further education. We intend keeping boys on Mathematics for as long as possible. At the end of the year we bid a sad farewell to two members of staff: Frank Lubbe, who has taught in the department since 2008. One of our most popular teachers, he has the ability to instil discipline, demand excellence and yet have a deep and emotional connection with his boys; Charmaine Dowdall joined the team early in 2012 as the Mathematics secretary and has been an invaluable asset who has worked tirelessly to ensure that we produce high quality materials and we will miss her expertise. We wish them both the very best on their new ventures. Vanessa Govendar Mathematics This was a fruitful year filled with new strategies and learning curves.
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