8 Days to Go! (2x2x2)


Good afternoon everyone, and welcome to the latest edition of the Maths Week 2022 email.

I know a proportion of you did not receive the previous email. Hopefully this has now been resolved, so this email will repeat much of what was shared in case you missed it.

Once again, we would really appreciate it if you could send an email to support@mathsweekengland.co.uk to say you have got it.

Better still, ask your IT department to 'whitelist' this email address which will help persuade servers that it is a legitimate email. If you are using a school email address, this may require a school admin to do so, but even if you can't do that, please make sure you send back a quick 'received' email.

This 'teaches' your email provider that you are happy to receive these emails and should help prevent them getting lost or filtered out. We are aware that some of you never got the confirmation email, but rest assured we did get your details safely - it is likely that your provider did not like the look of the message so blocked it, hence the need to reply to this please - just a one word response is fine.

As I write, we currently have an amazing 598,414 pupils from over 1500 schools registered - this is a great effort. Last year we reached a staggering one million people and it would be extraordinary if we were to get anywhere close to that this year, so please encourage your friends in other schools to take part if they haven't already signed up. Let's dive in.

Maths Week England Website

1. FREE Posters - two types

As usual, we have produced posters for you to print out and display all around the school, so that people know Maths Week is coming up, and what they have to look forward to. It really helps build anticipation, so don;t miss out. There are two versions - for schools where pupils are allowed to use mobile phones, we have included one with a QR code.
Download them here.

2. Fun Brainteasers

This year, our team have put together a set of five different brainteaser problems to share with colleagues in the staffroom, or with classes as you deem fit, or even to put up around the school.

They are A4 size for convenience, but can easily be enlarged to A3 to make a neat Maths Week England display, with a minimum of teacher time required. You can see a couple below - they are carefully designed to be accessible to both primary and secondary students.

Download all five of them here.

3. Competitions

Maths Week competitions are always popular, and this year we hope you will  enourage a record number of pupils to get involved.

So far, we have announced the following: First, our ever-popular  'Make a Video' competition. The theme is 'The Power of 2' so anything to do with 2 is fine - doubling, symmetry, etc, the choice is yours. The prize for the winning video is an amazing £100!

Author, mathematician and lecturer Kit Yates, has written a fantastic book entitled 'The Mathematics of Life and Death' - it's more fun than it sounds! - and is kindly offering a signed copy to the designer (or designers) of the best poster submitted. We're still finalising details - watch out for more info next week.

We're very pleased that the Children's Commissioner, Rachel de Souza, is also getting behind MWE22 with her own exclusive competition - more details as they come in.

Finally (for now!) a prize that money can't buy - a signed bundle of maths-related books and a personal video message from Andrew Jeffrey, founder of Maths Week England.

All competitions can be found on a dedicated page of the website - click here to find out more.

N.B. We have had to tighten up the competition rules this year, following a flurry of late entries last year that were hard to access, so please ensure that you read them carefully to ensure your entry is accepted.

4. Events Update

We are still adding things to the programme, and you will receive details in forthcoming emails.

Click to find out about some of the events we have planned so far, as well as all the amazing extra things we know you have been arranging yourselves in school.


AVAILABLE EVERY DAY:

NUMBERFIT World Cup
Numberella Escape Rooms: Primary  Secondary - links to follow.


Monday

The Connected World: Problem-solving session from AMSP, looking at degrees of separation. Suitable for years 7-11.

NRICH Webinar: this one is always a sellout (well it's free, but you know what we mean) so it's vital to book up asap. For KS2-3.

Monday Match-ups: Here is a short video for teachers and FS practitioners, with three fun ideas for EYFS and KS1 to get even our youngest pupils involved.

Problem of the Day: Can you cut this rectangle into two pieces to make a square? It's not as easy as it looks!

Video Puzzle: Help mathematician Zoe Griffiths decide which bag contains counterfeit coins. (In response to feedback, we have included the solutions this year so you can find out the answer before sharign the puzzle with your students if you wish!)

Tuesday

Much Ado About Numbers: A Maths Inspiration special - N.B. this event is LIVE in Birmingham, NOT online. Aimed at Years 10 and 11.

Bubbly Maths: Caroline Ainslie makes learning maths great fun with her shows using bubbles and balloons. This show will be on Zoom - link coming soon.

Problem of the Day: Fun with Fractions. Logical reasoning is required, but the maths should not be beyond an average Y5 level.

Video Puzzle: Today mathematician James Grime shares a problem known as an 'Euler Square', with real-world applications. Very accessible for all.


Wednesday

9:30am-10:15am  Snowflakes Zoom session: From family maths charity 'Maths on Toast' this is a hands-on chance to make some mathematical decorations. More details here.

Much Ado About Numbers: A Maths Inspiration special - N.B. this event is LIVE in Birmingham, NOT online. Aimed at Years 10 and 11.

Daily Puzzle: It's all about dominoes today - having a set of 0:6 dominoes is useful but not essential.

Thursday
09:30am-10:20am: Kenken Puzzling Workshop: Join Andrew Jeffrey as he introduces you to the woinderful world of Kenken puzzles; suitable for Years 5-8. Join in here.

Maths is Everywhere: well of course it is, but this Zoom session from AMSP lets participants decide the agenda!

Today's Daily Puzzle is all about words - and an interesting property of numbers!


Friday

Maths and Careers: this Zoom session is a chance for secondary students to hear about how maths is used in the workplace, with a panel of three people who do precisely that.


Our final daily puzzle of the week is this sneaky piece of logic - how will your students get on?


As ever, please exercise your professional judgement when selecting suitable events for your own pupils. It is not possible for us to regulate all the content offered by external providers, but obviously we try only to recommend people and activities we know and trust.

If you have any concerns in this regard, we would encourage you to report can report them to us at safeguarding@mathsweekengland.co.uk.

You can also read our updated safeguarding policy on the MWE website.

That's all for today - again, please send us a brief 'reply' and help our emails reach as many people as possible - thank you all!

The Maths Week England Volunteer Team.
Maths Week England. Bank House Southwick Square, Southwick, Brighton. West Sussex. BN42 4FN. United Kingdom