Murder mystery in Harvey solved with maths

Students, parents and teachers gathered at Harvey Primary School this week to solve crime using maths as part of Scitech’s yearlong Alcoa Maths Enrichment Program.

Community Relations Manager Tom Busher from Alcoa's Wagerup Refinery uses maths to solve mysteries with Harvey students, Lily Anzellino and Gianna Bacich.

On Monday, Scitech visited Harvey Primary School to run Professional Learning sessions with more than a dozen teachers from the region, followed by a Maths Murder Mystery evening for students and families.

“The Maths Murder Mystery event was really successful. We had a big group of students and parents working together to solve crime using a range of maths skills and critical thinking,” said Scitech Maths Multiplier Shyam Drury.

Scitech have been working with Harvey, Pinjarra, St Anne’s and Yarloop primary schools since February this year to accelerate teacher capacity, confidence and leadership with mathematics and to boost student performance.

“The Alcoa Maths Enrichment Program aims to use the three-way learning relationship between teachers, students, and parents to make the transition from basic numeracy to more complicated concepts easier,” said Shyam.

“Maths is an important part of so many things in everyday life, and in the future it is going to form a big part of the jobs these students will be doing. This program provides the tools for teachers and parents to meet students’ needs and expectations, and challenge those students with a desire to learn more,” he said.

More than 3,000 teachers, students and parents have taken part in the Alcoa Maths Enrichment Program since it began in 2012 with the support of the Alcoa Foundation.

“Mathematics is the cornerstone of everyday activities, as well as STEM related professions where the jobs of the future will be,” said Alcoa of Australia Chairman and Managing Director Michael Parker.

“If we want to set students up for success we need to spark their interest in maths and other STEM subjects as early as possible, which is what the Alcoa – Scitech partnership sets out to achieve,” he said.

ENDS

Media contacts:

Morgan Riley, morgan.riley@scitech.org.au or (0)8 9215 0721

Jane McGuire, jane.mcguire@alcoa.com.au or 0410 694 676