Dear pupils,

I have put up a few math prelim questions and solutions from 2011. Do try them.

Prelim-2011-TNPS_2_

Prelim-2011-GSPS_2_

Something spontaneous happened during our last December holiday program. I am talking about the interesting interaction between pupils in our P6 head-start class and those who took their PSLE in 2011 (now attending our SMO (Junior) program for pupils going to Secondary 1).
The younger ones were feeling stressed and anxious about taking PSLE in 2012. On the other hand, the older ones just had their high scores freshly printed on their result slips and were eager to share their experience on how they prepared for PSLE. They gave lots of tips and encouragement on how to do well in PSLE over a few 10-minute sharing sessions after lessons.
Two pupils who took their PSLE in 2010 also penned down their PSLE Survival Tips. One of them was ranked second in Singapore for that year. The other is also in one of the top girls’ school. Both came to Math Arena at P5 and are now in our SMO (Junior) program for Secondary 2.

I hope our P6 pupils will find these useful as they journey towards good performance in PSLE!

By Miss W:
1. Sleep early (before 11pm) 1 month ahead of PSLE

 2. Practice makes perfect

 3. Don’t slack!

 4. Always revise your work so that there will be no last minute studying and “chiong-ing”

 5. Make a study timetable/calendar and PSLE countdown

 6. Find the study method that suits you best and use it

 7. Don’t over-stress yourself

 8. Take regular breaks while studying (maximum 15 minutes)

 9. Revise difficult/confusing topics first

 10. Pay attention in class

 11. Don’t procrastinate!

 12. Never skip breakfast!
 

By Miss S:
1. Do not sleep any later than 11pm sharp

 2. Remember to take a healthy breakfast which is actually filling i.e. in the morning, eat like a queen; in the afternoon, eat like a merchant; in the evening, eat like a peasant.

 3. Practice mental sums like 2+4+8+1 = ….to strengthen your mind

 4. Of course you would have to pay attention in class and not doze off. It’s like knowing your enemy and when your teacher reveals the answer, it’s like revealing the loopholes in the math problem/question

 5. If you can find a game called World Hardest Game to have fun and to sharpen your reflexes. This helps in weight loss too.

 6. Give your 100% in everything you do!

故曰：知彼知己，百戰不殆；不知彼而知己，一勝一負；不知彼，不知己，每戰必殆。

“So it is said that if you know your enemies and know yourself, you can win a hundred battles without a single loss.
If you only know yourself, but not your opponent, you may win or may lose.
If you know neither yourself nor your enemy, you will always endanger yourself.”

( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Art_of_War)

First let us take a closer look at our enemy—“careless mistakes”. Below is a frequently occurring classroom conversation.

Teacher asks: “‘How is it that you get this question wrong?”

Student 1: “Careless lah! I never read the question.”

Student 2: “Oopsies….Careless leh! I see wrongly.”

Student 3: “Oops…Careless lor! I forgot about the minus sign in front.”

“Careless” seems to be an all-encompassing word trying to capture the essence of all kinds of mistakes. On the contrary, the overuse of “careless” has obscured the real problems behind it. “Careless” is an easy answer to the difficult question, “what has gone wrong with the student’s approach to the problem?”

Through my observations in class, many errors may not truly be due to “carelessness”. There can be some other underlying problems.

Once the student follows a more systematic way of approaching the problem or has a deeper understanding of the concept, or even writes just a tad more neatly without squeezing all rough working together with proper working, you will be amazed  at how much less “careless mistakes” there are. As teachers and parents, we need to probe further. Do not allow “careless mistakes”, the poor scapegoat, to fool you.

Parents do their utmost to remind their children not to be careless, yet “careless mistakes” continue to creep in, over and over again. Even the brightest kids are not spared. This makes us wonder, can careless mistakes be avoided at all?

We do think that “careless mistakes” can be reduced to the minimum. This takes hard work from the students, patience from the parents and special guidance from the teachers.

Are you facing the “impossible careless problem?”

Muhammad Ali, a legendary American heavyweight boxer, once said, “…..Impossible is not a fact…..It’s a dare. Impossible is potential. Impossible is temporary. Impossible is nothing.”

Let’s have faith in helping your children become “careless-free”.

P1 & P2 — Morning Classes (9am – 10.30am)

As the age old wisdom goes “an hour in the morning is worth two in the evening” (一日之计在于晨), children tend to be most intellectually receptive after a full night rest. We conduct IQ Math and MOT classes in the morning, from 9am – 10.30am, for P1 and P2 pupils who attend afternoon sessions in school. We hope to provide the intellectual nutrients for your child to enjoy the refreshing morning sunshine at our fertile turf.

K1 & K2 – Early Afternoon IQ Classes (2.30pm – 4.00pm)

After a fruitful morning session in the kindergarten, our lovely K1 & K2 children can take a power nap to restore energy and prepare for the second peak time in learning in the early afternoon. IQ Math classes are available from 2.30pm – 4.00pm for K1 and K2 children.

Call us today

Do call us early to arrange the relevant classes for your children. If you have other requirements for classes, just let us know and we see what we can do.

We shared the joy with everyone around, even the mathematicians on our classroom doors seemed to be in an upbeat mood! Every child is curious and we as adult should remain so.

No child is ordinary.

Leaving the ordinary behind shall be our nature! Yeah!

It was a joyful Friday!

After an intense morning at Math Hub’s centralised Teachers’ Workshop, the core management team and a few trainers from other centres were invited to Math Arena for a feast!

Our very own in-house “celebrity” chef, Aunty Doris, gave us a quasi-gourmet experience with the finest home-cooked food. She brought out the full aroma in her simmered curry chicken with potatoes. By the way, Miss Fan ate at least three bowls full of the spice-filled stuff and her faint “curry-moustache” proved it was that lip-smacking good! The sambal sotong served atop the warm baked bread was simply irresistible for everyone. The next highlight — deluxe steamed mock abalone served warm on a bed of broccoli, was not only rich in texture but also a visually delightful art piece with its mix of colours. Also on the food team, our quiet but wonderful Shu Hua put on table the staple fried bee hoon and a delicious fruit platter, Simple and Yummy!

There are many reasons to celebrate. But mostly, we want to celebrate the promotion of Mr. Damian Lee to Centre Manager. Having shown himself as a competent and excellent trainer, Damian progresses to now co-lead the team at Math Arena. Yeah!

Thanks to Ms. Persis, who brought up this cheerful idea of having a party! It was a great platform to exchange ideas with colleagues from other centres and arrange for further collaboration in teaching for the coming year……. sharing our joys in running the centres and problems alike, all in the hope of a better Math Arena.

Enjoy more  pictures!

By Fan

We have successfully concluded our special PSLE event, “‘Final Math Treat” last night. We had a lively discussion in class and then a small party.

As teachers, we have enjoyed very much teaching all our pupils…..each one with your unique strengths, personality and “idiosyncrasies” make every lesson enjoyable, fun, challenging but altogether a fruitful experience.

Like I always say to my P6 pupils from previous years, you are already champions in my eyes as I watch how you have grown, not just in academic capabilities, but in your confidence and character.

A post-PSLE party will be held on a Saturday in October. We’ll keep you informed.

Enjoy:  pictures from yesterday’s “Final Math Treat”!

Special Features

Each chapter begins with an Overview, followed by step-by-step worked Examples and Let’s Practice problems.

• Demonstrate different methods
  in solving the same problem
• Present detailed solution to
  practice problems
• Large prints for easy reading
• Interesting and non-routine
  problems (not necessarily difficult)

In everything, not only mathematics, practice makes perfect. The design of the book has taken children’s natural learning pattern into consideration. Being experienced in Olympiad training,
the authors have arranged the examples and practice problems with increasing difficulty. After introducing a concept, a few basic problems will follow to consolidate the concept before going into more complicated applications. This gives students a good mathematical standing for more advanced learning in the future.

Who is this book for?

Primary 3 and Primary 4 students

How to use this book?

This manual would be an excellent supplementary workbook to students who have been through Olympiad training with Math Arena. The practice problems could refresh their memories, sharpen their problem-solving skills and eventually advance their competition techniques to ace the actual
competitions.

For students without Math Olympiad background, this is a most appropriate starting book.  We have made conscious effort to present clear and detailed explanations so that students can gain a good insight into the type of problems dealt with in the competition.  The design of the manual has made it accessible for those without Olympiad background. Thus, this is a good exposure book even for students who are not very keen on the actual competition.

Getting away from routine Syllabus math, this book presents interesting and fun-filled problems for young readers to explore. Thus, it is a great book to stimulate more interest in math and nurture the inquisitiveness of the mind. This, in fact, has more long-lasting impact to future math-related learning than a mere good result in the competition. Imagine how much joy we can get just by seeing our children simply enjoying the process of learning?

Price

S$13 per copy

Interested parents please feel free to browse through our copy at the counter @ Math Arena or ask any of our staff for more information.