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Math fair introduces Grade 8 students to high school

June 14, 2016

Math Fair-news.jpgApproximately 330 Grade 8 students attended the second annual TDC Math Fair at Tommy Douglas Collegiate on June 15.

The fair is the creation of teacher Nat Banting’s Grade 9 math class. During a class activity last year a student wondered aloud “I wish we could show this to other students” and the idea for the fair was born.

The event acts as a way for students from five area elementary schools to connect with current Tommy Douglas students and provides a valuable first step in the transition to high school, both academically and socially.

The Grade 8 students were led through mathematical curiosities by 50 Tommy Douglas students and staff volunteers. Elementary students navigated the mathematical concepts of equality, graphical literacy, estimation, symmetry and reasoning. New this year will be a Dark Room Escape where students will work in groups to reason their way out of a puzzle room.

Students were asked to work collectively on the given tasks and become active problem posers and solvers. The fair provides the opportunity for students make conjectures and wonder aloud with their peers while activating and challenging the curricular skills developed through their elementary school instruction.

The TDC Math Fair 2016 could not have happened without the generous support from the administration, school-community coordinator, school trustee, elementary school teachers, division mathematics leadership team, and the hard work of the students who planned it from the ground up.