Mathematics

Department Vision

The Mathematics Department aims to enable all students to:

Acquire mathematical concepts and skills for everyday use and continuous learning in mathematics
Develop thinking, reasoning, communication, application, and metacognitive skills through a mathematical approach to problem-solving
Build confidence and foster interest in mathematics

To achieve these objectives, teachers strive to make mathematics simple, thoughtful, and fun for all students.

SimpleMaths: Teachers adopt a variety of teaching approaches to simplify the learning of
mathematics. Through the Concrete-Pictorial-Abstract approach, students acquire mathematical concepts and skills. As problem-solving is central to mathematics learning, students learn Polya’s 4 essential steps – Understand, Plan, Solve, and Check – to solving problems. In addition, ICT is meaningfully infused into lessons for students to explore, collaborate and deepen their learning.

ThoughtfulMaths: Teachers nurture a classroom culture that allows students to develop thinking, reasoning, and metacognitive skills. Students are given the opportunities to communicate, reason and reflect on their mathematical thinking. Teachers lead and guide students to explore and make sense of the Mathematical concepts on their own so they can build new ideas. This allows them to become more confident and participative over time.

FunMaths: Students learn better through play. The use of physical and digital manipulatives allows the students to actively participate in the learning process and allow them to discover and understand mathematical concepts. During our Beacon Experiential Week (BEx), we had the opportunity to embed games and stories into our lessons. This enabled the students to discover and apply Mathematical skills and concepts in a real-world context.

Excellence 2000 (E2K) Mathematics Programme

The E2K Mathematics programme caters to selected Primary 4 and 5 students who demonstrate added interest and ability in Mathematics. It offers opportunities for students to collaborate with their peers and engage in mathematical thinking through resources such as puzzles, games and explorations which are specifically designed to hone their mathematical skills. Through these rich learning experiences, students will develop the habits, attitudes and disposition that mathematicians possess, as well as gain important 21st century competencies such as critical and inventive thinking, and effective communication skills.

Mathematics Olympiad Training

Primary 4 to 6 students who are talented and passionate about Mathematics are invited to join the Maths Olympiad training. These training sessions help them to think critically and creatively in problem-solving. Students will be given the opportunity to apply what they have learnt in Mathematics competitions such as the Singapore and Asian Schools Maths Olympiad (SASMO), Asia-Pacific Mathematical Olympiad for Primary Schools (APMOPS), Raffles Maths Olympiad (RMO) and National Mathematical Olympiad Singapore (NMOS). This will allow them to gain exposure beyond the school apply the concepts they have learnt.

Learning Support for Mathematics (LSM)

The LSM programme provides early intervention support in acquiring basic numeracy skills for identified Primary 1 to 4 students. In a small group setting, trained teachers make use of a variety of strategies such as scaffolding and visual representation to help deepen their understanding of the concepts learnt.