The “math wing” is a familiar area to Senior School students at Trinity College School, since every student must take a minimum of three high school mathematics credits, and most choose to take four, five or even six, which can include Advanced Placement courses in both calculus and statistics. Students can choose pathways that are extremely “math-heavy,” in preparation for university courses in engineering, the sciences and some business programs; or they can choose pathways designed to develop mathematical literacy and comfort in a variety of other areas.

We strive to make learning mathematics at TCS a collaborative process because we believe that students learn difficult concepts and develop skills best by collaborating with their peers. The pandemic has certainly made the collaborative process much more challenging over the past two years, but with restrictions now lifting, the department has been able to return to teaching practices that allow for students to work together more often. It is now commonplace again to walk the hallways of the Fessenden Wing and watch students working together at the whiteboards or in smaller groups in the classroom – certainly a delight to see!

An enriching part of the department offerings are the Centre for Education in Mathematics and Computing’s numerous individual and team contests that many of our most enthusiastic students enjoy. This year, many had the opportunity to write the Canadian Intermediate and Senior contests in the fall, the Pascal, Cayley and Fermat contests in February, and the Fryer, Galois, Hypatia and Euclid contests in April. We will continue the department tradition of recognizing the achievements of our “mathletes” in chapel toward the end of the academic year.

As the academic year draws to a conclusion, students and parents should also note that the Math Learning Centre (MLC) remains open to support students. It is open during each academic block and on Tuesday and Thursday evenings during study. Day students have the opportunity to access the MLC on Tuesday and Thursday evenings through Google Meet. While the MLC will continue to function as a learning space for current math support, students are also encouraged to use it as a resource for developing strategies and preparing for final examinations this June. It has been a few years since students have sat a set of traditional exams, so the experience will be new to many.

On top of all the math support available through TCS, here are three additional online resources that students may find helpful:

• IXL Math – great resources for all grade levels (subscription may apply): https://ca.ixl.com/math/

• CEMC Courseware – more great resources for all grade levels (free!): https://courseware.cemc.uwaterloo.ca/

• Khan Academy – great video library of specific math skills and topics: https://www.khanacademy.org/

- By Steve Patterson, head of mathematics