Students compete in Meaningful Maths day at Dripstone Middle School

Free read: From catapults to VR, maths equals fun for these future STEM leaders. Read the details.

Top End primary school students gathered for the seventh annual Meaningful Maths day at Dripstone Middle School on Wednesday.

The annual event sees students compete in fun, real-world activities to boost both their confidence and skills in mathematics.

This year 140 year 3-6 students competed in the event which included a range of activities such as virtual reality (VR) games, puzzle solving and catapult competitions.

Nakara Primary School student Shivani said she liked “lots of stuff” about the day, in particular measurement and weights with her favourite maths activity adding up numbers.

Shivani from Nakara Primary School using her freshly built catapult to understand angles at the Meaningful Maths day. Picture: Department of Education and Training NT

For Felix and Jack from Howard Springs Primary School, blowing up balloons and measuring their circumference was a fun activity too.

Alawa Primary School principal and Meaningful Maths governing principal Sandy Cartwright said numeracy activities help to build lifelong skills.

“By incorporating numeracy into playful daily routines and challenges at an early age, we’re helping students begin to understand patterns, measurements, and basic calculations, setting the stage for more complex mathematical thinking,” she said.

Felix and Jack from Howard Springs Primary School measuring circumference of the balloons as part of an exercise to teach about diameter at the Meaningful Maths day. Picture: Department of Education and Training NT

“This leads to long-term academic and cognitive benefits, boosting critical thinking, problem-solving, and reasoning abilities, all essential for success in school and life.”

Bakewell Primary School maths teacher Sarah Hodgson highlighted the social aspect of the day.

“We get the opportunity to create and deliver an activity for the event, share ideas with other teachers and schools in the network and build our capacity by working together behind the scenes to make this engaging day possible for all the students involved,” she said.

Originally published as Students compete in Meaningful Maths day at Dripstone Middle School