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What is the SCMA and what does it do?
The association began as the Northern Rivers Mathematical Association in 1969 under the initiative of Neville Leeson, who was the first Lecturer in Mathematics at the then Lismore Teachers' College.
The Association began as a group of Mathematics Head Teachers coming together to promote the study and teaching of mathematics at all levels, and has continued since then to provide published materials, competitions, prizes and events for students, and professional development activities for teachers.
The Association is affiliated with the Australian Association of Mathematics Teachers.
Early Activities of the Association:
In the early years the Head Teachers of Mathematics along with the then Lismore Teacher’s College staff met regularly and discussed activities and issues relevant to promoting Mathematics in Schools of the region.
Towards the end of the 1970’s the Association began a small enterprise which was a Mathematics Competition for the local Year 6 students. Initially, there was just a few hundred students participating in this activity and students received prizes for their efforts and certificates were distributed to all participants.
Over the next couple of years the participation rate increased substantially. So much so, that the administration and marking of the competition became too large to handle effectively at the local level. In an effort to maintain the competition the administration was arranged through the University of New South Wales and within a few short years the competition grew to over 500 000 participants in Australia and New Zealand. On the local scene the competition questions and problems continued to be generated by a small group of volunteer mathematicians.
As the competition continued to grow, further papers were added to the competition until there was a Year3/4, Year 5/6 and a Year 7/8 paper being produced each year. The latter two papers, continuing to be developed by the Southern Cross Mathematical Association.
In 1998 the relationship with the University of NSW was lost and the Educational Testing Centre (ETC) took complete control and development of the competition.
More Recent Activities of the Association:
Through the 1990’s and 2000’s the Southern Cross Mathematical Association ran HSC days for students and teachers that were studying 2U Mathematics, Extension 1 and Extension 2 Mathematics. These study days were well patronised and provided invaluable assistance to country students studying the higher levels of Mathematics.
As well, in the 2000’s our Development Officer, Garry Bell developed, manufactured, marketed and trained Primary teachers in the use of the ’30 track’ –a device that assists young students in their counting, patterning and general number sense. These devices have been very successful and are now found all over Australia.
Future Activities of the Association:
Future activities will be to continue holding HSC days for students as well as providing opportunities for teachers to upgrade their skills by attending workshops and meetings to discuss important issues in Mathematics Education.
Executive
President: |
Secretary: |
Treasurer: |
Development Officer: |
History
Life Members of SCMA
Life Membership of SCMA is an honour and is awarded to recognise a member of the Association whose contributions have been significant.
Neville Leeson was recognised for Life Membership for his contribution in starting the Northern Rivers Mathematics Association (NRMA). It was through his persistence and dedication that the association was formed and is still working in our region 40 years later.
Past Presidents of SCMA
| Year | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Past Executive Members:
It is also important to acknowledge the contributions of the following people who have assisted the above presidents to achieve the aims of the Southern Cross Mathematical Association.
Sue Apps, Bill Cross, Mike Evans, Tony Fern, Tom Garvey, John Geake, Jim Green, Neville Leeson, Chris Mills, Gail Oddy, David Owen, Jill Owen, Barry Rodger, Amanda Schofield, Maureen Selby, Tom Sleigh, Ross Tarlinton, Jim Wootten