24 May 2021
Dear Parents and Carers,
Erina High School will be extending our current academic enrichment program for senior students to include Mathematics and Science tutoring. We have been able to utilise the COVID intensive learning support funding to employ a specialised Mathematics and Science educator that will be available every Monday for the duration of the year. Student will be able to access assistance in both an individual capacity and/or in small groups sessions.
Carolyn Taylor has background is in applied mathematics and experimental physics and will provide the tutoring. After graduating university, she worked for several years as a research scientist. Carolyn has extensive experience working as a tutor of mathematics and physics for primary, secondary and tertiary students. She is excited at the opportunity to work with students from Erina High and supporting their growth, understanding, confidence and motivation in these subject areas.
Mr Brian Huntington (Head Teacher Science), Mr Josh Wade (Head Teacher Mathematics) and Ms Claire Walsh (Year 12 Science Teacher), will be putting forward small groups of students that might benefit most from this learning support, scheduling them based on their study periods on a Monday. As the Year 12 students finish courses at the end of Term 3, they will be the focus of the assistance initially, in Terms 2 and 3. Assistance will be available in the following areas;
Standard 2 Mathematics
- Practise interpreting maths questions, e.g. what is this question actually asking me to do? What clues does the problem statement give me? What information have I got to work with? What areas of maths might be relevant for solving this problem?
- Practise solving maths problems, e.g. Planning out the steps needed to be performed to get to the answer. Practise performing each step correctly. Checking the answer that I finally arrive at to see if it is reasonable.
- Practice interpreting what the answer means to a real-world maths problem, e.g. should I invest in that company, or take an umbrella, or leave 10 mins early?
- Practice answering past HSC exam questions to prepare for the final exam.
Physics
- Reviewing any physics concepts students request that they have not fully grasped.
- Practise interpreting physics problems, which have a particular style of their own.
- Practise solving physics problems and interpreting the answers to those problems.
- Practise answering past HSC exam questions to prepare for the final exam.
- Guidance and support for their physics research projects.
Extension Science and Biology
- Guidance and support for student-nominated research projects.
- Assistance writing reports so they communicate technical information clearly and simply.
- Assistance reviewing any mathematical content of the research projects.
This is a great opportunity for all our students to enhance their learning. Please feel free to contact the school for further information. Students will be informed of through their Mathematics and Science lessons and the process for requesting a session with the tutor Carolyn Taylor.
Regards,
Mr G Mallon
Deputy Principal