Here in Scoil San Treasa, we are justifiably proud of our high standards in numeracy.
As per our consultation process with parents after the National Strategy for Literacy and Numeracy was launched, we are continuing to give added focus to aspects of the Maths programme right throughout the school - on an ongoing basis - including the following areas: problem-solving, boosting further the positive attitude to Maths, oral and mental Maths, the language of Maths and linking Maths with the real world and practical, everyday activities.
With this in mind, intermittently throughout the year, we post three ‘problems’ on the school website.
- one for Juniors (restricted to pupils from Infants to Second Class),
- one for the Whole School (open to all pupils) and
- one Challenge (a particularly ‘challenging’ problem, as the name suggests, for any pupil to try!)
Participation in SST Solve-A-Problem is optional. The problems/challenges posed take a variety of forms and vary in degree of difficulty. Some of them may not initially seem to be closely linked to Maths at all but may nevertheless prompt your child’s problem-solving and thinking skills, and may whet their appetite for problem solving. Just as is the case with real-life problems, some of the problems may be perplexing and difficult, some may be relatively easy, some may have more than one correct solution and some may take a while to tease out.
We hope that you will find this to be another useful way of engaging your child with Maths in a broad and thought-provoking way that is not restricted to the classroom or textbook.