Welcome to the Mathematics Department!
The Stouffville District Secondary School Mathematics Department is comprised of a cohesive group of hard-working, qualified professional mathematics teachers, dedicated to providing quality mathematics instruction to students. We teach our students how to perfect their skills and think critically and further prepare them for both higher education and the workplace. We continually work together in teams to develop, refine, and unify our courses, to the continued benefit of the student. We provide a nurturing, fun and safe classroom environment which encourages students to participate openly and to explore collectively. Teachers in the Mathematics Department are dedicated to providing individual assistance to students by offering extra help sessions during lunch hours or after school. Our Grade 9 students are provided with regular preparation for the EQAO Grade 9 Assessment of Mathematics, resulting in successful results each year. The Mathematics Department also provides additional learning opportunities for our students, such as encouraging participation in mathematics contests, providing grade specific workshops in preparation for mathematics contests, as well as teaching assistant opportunities, through the co-operative education department.
Grade 9 to 11 Waterloo Mathematics Contests
The Pascal (grade 9), Cayley (grade 10) and Fermat (grade 11) Contests are an opportunity for students to have fun and to develop their mathematical problem solving ability.
Audience
Students in Grade 9 or below are eligible to write the Pascal Contest.
Students in Grade 10 or below are eligible to write the Cayley Contest.
Students in Grade 11 or below are eligible to write the Fermat Contest.
Date
Occurs in February (date to be announced)
Format
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The contests are written in schools and supervised by teachers.
Mathematical Content
Early questions require only concepts found in the curriculum common to all provinces. The last few questions are designed to test ingenuity and insight. Rather than testing content, most of the contest problems test logical thinking and mathematical problem solving.
Euclid Mathematics Contest (Grade 12)
The Euclid Mathematics Contest is an opportunity for students to have fun and to develop their mathematical problem solving ability.
Audience
Students in their final year of secondary school and motivated students in lower grades.
Date
Occurs in April (date to be announced)
Format
- 10 questions; some answer only and some full solution
- no multiple choice questions
- marks for full solution questions assigned for form and style of presentation
- 2.5 hours
- 100 total marks
- non-programmable calculators permitted provided they are without graphical displays
The contest is written at SDSS and supervised by teachers.
Mathematical Content
Most of the problems will be based on the mathematics curriculum up
to and including the final year of secondary school. The paper may
include questions based on the topic listed below:
• Euclidean and analytic geometry
• Trigonometry, including functions, graphs, identities, sine and cosine laws
• Exponential and logarithmic functions
• Functional notation
• Systems of equations
• Polynomials, including relationships involving the roots of quadratic and cubic equations, the remainder theorem
• Sequences and series
• Simple counting problems
• Properties of numbers
Homework Help for Grades 9 and 10
Grade 9 and 10 students have access to live interactive on line math assistance. The site is called Homework Help and it is no cost, real-time math tutoring by certified Ontario teachers. Homework Help also offers supporting math resources and tools available 24/7. To read more, click on __.
Resources Available:
Best Sessions: The most commonly asked examples of questions that are asked in the Tutor Chat Rooms are posted to make available for all students.
Listen and Learn: Students have access to interactive lessons, self assessments, and printable presentation notes.
Interactive Tutorials: Colourful, animated tutorials that provide interactive, narrated lessons on a variety of topics.
Tools Available:
Virtual Locker: All student chat sessions, and tagged sessions, are automatically saved to a personal Virtual Locker for easy access at any time.
Scientific Calculator: If students do not have a calculator handy they can easily access a scientific calculator from both the main site and in the Tutor Chat Room.
Glossary: This provides “student friendly” definitions and diagrams for common mathematical terms.
Tutor Chat Rooms: Sessions are one on one, confidential and live. Students can interact only with the tutor in the Tutor Chat Room via a chat session and using an interactive white board in an anonymous and safe learning environment. Tutors are Ontario Teachers certified.
Tutor Chat Rooms are open Sunday through Thursday from 5:30 pm to 9:30 pm.
How do students register for Homework Help?
Students may register using their Ontario Education Number (OEN) at homeworkhelp.ilc.org
The OEN may be found on any Provincial Report Card or it may be obtained from the guidance office.
It is recommended that students use an anonymous user name and password when registering.
Websites to Strengthen Math Skills for Students Entering Grade 9
Prerequisite Skills for Grade 9 Mathematics
Operations with Integers
Operations with Fractions
Solving Linear Equations
Websites:
This site offers a variety of interesting mathematical games like “Math Car Racing” and “Math Baseball”.
Provides chat room for online tutoring for grades 7 to 10.
The Centre for Education in Mathematics and Computing
This site covers the topics taught in Grade 7 and 8 mathematics. Includes lessons, practice questions, and solved problems.