Maths-Whizz has made it to the Channel Islands. Alderney, northernmost of the Channel islands, is home to a people nicknamed ‘vaques’ (cows) and ‘lapins’ (rabbits), and home also to the small, but forward-thinking, Ormer House Preparatory School.
Vaques and lapins do Maths-Whizz
Ormer House is one of the smallest schools on our books, but it’s testament (we hope!) to the quality of Maths-Whizz that they’ve opted to invest in our Maths-Whizz Tutoring for Schools service, and convinced the generous people behind Trover Coats (purveyors of all-weather coats to classy canines) to stump up the cash. They’ve even gone as far as to write about it in the local newspaper, and we’ve copied their article below.
A Big thanks to Ormer House for giving us some local recognition, and if Whizz had a doggy mascot, he’d be wearing a burgundy red Bone Dry.
Bone Dry!
Read on for the whole article.
Maths-Whizz is successful in Ormer House School
An initiative that has been introduced to the children of Ormer House has been given the thumbs up by the pupils, parents and their ICT teacher. “Maths-Whizz is a website that allows the children to develop their maths skills as well as their Information Communication Technology skills said Elaine Cathcart, ICT Teacher.
Each child who receives ICT classes has been enrolled on the website and the subscription has kindly been paid by a local company – Trover Coats.
The children were originally tested at the start of the new term to identify their own personal academic maths level. Lessons were then geared around that level and children learnt new maths concepts via build up exercises with the help of Miss Cathcart and they progressed at their own pace.
After each new concept has been explained on the computer to the child, they then undertake a small interactive exam and credits are given depending on the results of the exam. Children save up their credits and visit the interactive Maths-Whizz shop to purchase all sorts of goodies ranging from cuddly toys to virtual pets. They must also buy food for these pets and feed them regularly. “This develops their monetary skills and gives them responsibility for feeding their pets” explained Miss Cathcart. Each child has a virtual bedroom and can decorate this using their imagination as well as read any new letters they receive on their notice board. Reading skills are also developing during these lessons.
Parents also work at home with their children on the Maths-Whizz website. They can track their child’s progress and give support and help when required during lessons. The report card facility is checked every week by the teacher and shows how long each child has spent on lessons at home, how much progress has been achieved or if remediation work was necessary. Many of the children are now working at an age level higher than their actual age – this information is shown on the report card.
The children are very enthusiastic when working on Maths-Whizz because they know each time they move on to a new concept they can build up more credits which allows them to have fun in the Maths-Whizz shop.