Problem solving is a cornerstone of Broomfield’s maths teaching and on Monday, the Happy Puzzle Company joined us for a full day of puzzle solving exercises for all years from Pre-Kindergarten to Year 6. The children were divided into groups of five or six and tackled a series of stretching challenges. Tasks ranged across finding geometric patterns and building road maps to joining up 3D tubes, and all the groups enjoyed the fun starter of seeing how many penguins can stand on an iceberg before they start jumping off! Fun and excitement combined with learning as we worked on the skills of finding solutions with others through teamwork and collaboration.
Mr Kennedy, our specialist Maths teacher, who organised the event, said, ” I was absolutely delighted with how brilliantly all the children engaged with this workshop. Seeing them apply their Maths skills in practical ways was really inspiring. I am grateful to the Happy Puzzle Company for bringing such a terrific range of activities which made us think and got the children working together.”
He was even more delighted to hear the feedback from Year 2 who had clearly enjoyed their session.
“Mr Kennedy gave us TT Rockstars and now this, he’s very cool and kind” – Hamza
“The first activity involved a post and an iceberg. I didn’t know how this could be anything to do with Maths, but it turned out to be about balancing and making weight equal, pretty epic” – Jena
“I loved that we got to work as a team to do problem solving, it was like Apex” – Cathan
“Maths like this is so fun and it makes me feel like I can do it” – William
“The hexagon puzzle was tricky and I never thought we would complete the challenge, but together we used our Maths skills to crack the code” – Amelia
“The jigsaw puzzle had different shapes and sizes that were double sided. We had to put all the pieces together to complete the task” – Liberty
The Key Stage 1 Team were similarly impressed reporting that, “The workshop was full of fun, activities were fluid and fast paced. The children thrived on the differentiated levels and appropriate level of challenge. All children had fun and benefited from the well organised experience.”
Mr Kennedy has had a busy week as he also took three teams of Year 5 mathematicians to two local competitions. Firstly, Astrid, Clara, Lara and Levi took part in the annual Hampton School Maths Wizard Competition on Wednesday, swiftly followed on Thursday when Aahna, Amelia, Chico and Stephane entered the Kew Green Prep Challenge. All the teams worked hard through various differently-themed rounds, and received praise for their participation and strong performance. The boys team at the Kew event did particularly brilliantly, coming in second place, in what the organisers described as a ‘photo finish’ with the winners. Mr Kennedy said, “It was a privilege to see rooms packed with children who just love the challenge of Maths. Girls and boys alike lit up as they tackled complex questions and shared ideas and strategies for tackling the various problems, working together to find practical solutions. Well done to all the participants, you did yourselves proud.”
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