Maths Ed events

MEOW is a hands-on and interactive series of afternoon workshops for high achieving Year 8 students.

During these innovative sessions, participants will experience how maths is used in different disciplines at JCU, such as epidemiology, engineering and economics. Students will have the opportunity to learn new skills and enhance their ability to solve problems related to different maths-related professions.

Students are encouraged to attend in pairs, if possible, so they can work together and with other students from different schools on real life scenarios. Prizes are on offer, along with take-home materials and interactive incentives.

• The Townsville workshops usually run for six consecutive Mondays during Terms 2 and 4.
• Sessions begin at 4:00pm and conclude at 5:45pm on the Townsville campus at Education Central (Building 134).
• Places are limited to 25 students.
• Registration costs $60 per student for the full series.
• We have previously run workshops in Cairns and the Burdekin and hope to do so again in the future.

Information about future MEOW workshops is provided to the mathematics departments of all local schools to pass on to high achieving Year 8 students.

Note: Due to COVID-19, no MEOW workshops are currently scheduled.

How to register

Parents/carers should use the online registration form and payment facility to register their child. A confirmation email will be issued following payment.

Australian Mathematics Competition

This is a fun competition for students of all standards, and one of the world’s largest school based competitions. Available as an online or pen/paper format for students from Years 3 to 12. Entry in the competition is generally done via schools. See the competition website for further information.

International Mathematical Modelling Challenge

The International Mathematical Modelling Challenge (IM²C) is a team-based mathematical competition for Australian secondary students. IM²C promotes mathematical modelling, encouraging participants to explore the application of mathematics in real situations to solve problems of importance. Students work in teams of up to four on a problem for five consecutive days. The contest runs annually. For more information and to register, visit the IM²C website.

Past problems, example problems and related teacher resources are also available on the website.

SSA National Schools Poster competition

The Statistical Society of Australia (SSA) runs a poster competition for primary and secondary schools. Winners are eligible to compete in the international competition. Teams create an informative poster presentation on a topic of their choice. The goal is to increase the awareness of the wide application and need for statistics. The competition runs annually and schools can register at any time.

Bebras Australia Computational Thinking Challenge

Bebras is a biannual international student challenge whose goal is to promote computational thinking for teachers and students aged 8-17 (school years 3-12). It is aligned with and supports Information and Communications Technology (ICT) curricula across Australia.

The Bebras Challenge is made up of a set of 15 questions delivered online, in the classroom. Working alone or in teams, students have 45 minutes to complete the challenge in one sitting and questions can be answered without any prior knowledge of computational thinking or ICT. A school can choose any day in the two week competition period to run the competition and this happens twice a year (March and September).

Access the Bebras Challenge handbook on the Bebras website for information on how to register, enrol and run the Challenge at your school. In addition to the Bebras Challenge, Bebras 365 and Bebras mini challenges are available as free resources throughout the year.

QAMT Year 5/6 and 7/8 Quiz

Teams of three students compete in local rounds of the annual QAMT mathematics quiz. If they are successful, they can travel to the Quiz finals, held in Brisbane. Find out the dates of the next competition and more information about how the quiz runs on the QAMT website competition page.

The JCU Mathematics Education team provide professional development opportunities at Northern Queensland QAMT conferences and as part of the STEM @ JCU: Professional Development Teachers Workshops.

• JCU Events - JCU sponsored and facilitated activities.
• QCAA Events - presentations and professional development for K-12 educators.
• QAMT Events - calendar of events and opportunities.