Minister of Education, Lisa Thompson (MPP Huron Bruce) and Grey-Bruce Owen Sound MPP Bill Walker attended the third annual Mathletics Challenge held on Saturday, October 13th at the Bruce County Museum and Cultural Centre.
MPP Bill Walker said to the students that math is involved in every aspect of life … “from retail to the food we eat and I believe we have to get back to the basics. From being able to computate ‘on the fly’ without having to use cell phones and by using (our brains).” Walker then introduced Minister Thompson saying that she is “… putting a lot of work into the curriculum to get back to the basics.”
The Challenge was hosted by the Georgian Bay Chapter of Professional Engineers Ontario (PEO) for grades 7 and 8 students who excel in mathematics.
Approximately 25 students from across Bruce County attended the Challenge where they had to anonymously answer questions that required math skills through automated ‘clickers’ .
Each right answer was awarded points and, at the end of the competition, prizes were given to the 1st, 2nd and 3rd place winners in grade 8 and the 1st place winner in grade 7. In addition, a prize was handed out for the quickest correct answer and a prize for answering the most challenging questions correctly.
The goal of the Challenge is to foster young students to follow a path that involves mathematics with a possible career in the Engineering fields.
Following the competition, the students and parents were given the opportunity to tour the Museum.
