Implications
In order to implement the Math Olympics we had to overcome many obstacles and challenges. Firstly, we had to ensure that each staff member was on board with the idea. Once everyone agreed and showed excitement, we had to find a way to organize the event so that the teachers knew what they were doing, the students knew where they were supposed to be and most importantly, so that the day would run smoothly. We decided on making passports for the students that would lay out which classrooms they would be travelling to. Because the teachers would be staying in their classrooms to run their activity, we ensured that the primary students had escorts to bring them from one activity to the next. We also spoke with the kindergarten teachers and they suggested that their students would be fine staying in their classrooms during the event and they would simply rotate stations. Once the schedules and activities were set up, we created packages for each teacher. Inside each package were the passports for the students, medals, guidelines for their activity, curriculum expectations for the different grade levels and the overall schedule. Once each teacher had the chance to review their package, we asked them for feedback on their allotted activity. We only had to make minor changes to a few activities in order for the teachers to be completely satisfied. The day before the Math Olympics we set up the activities for the teachers and handed out all required manipulatives. Our goal here was to make the event as stress-free for the staff as possible.
We hope that with the templates and the activities available through this website, both the teachers at St. Agnes as well as other educators both in Ontario and across the globe will be able to run their own Math Olympics. The comments section connects to an e-mail address set up specifically for this website that will allow us to receive feedback from staff, students and parents. Additionally, this will allow any other educator to contact us with questions, ideas or suggestions that we can add to our website to build up our resources. We hope for this to become an annual event at St. Agnes.
We hope that with the templates and the activities available through this website, both the teachers at St. Agnes as well as other educators both in Ontario and across the globe will be able to run their own Math Olympics. The comments section connects to an e-mail address set up specifically for this website that will allow us to receive feedback from staff, students and parents. Additionally, this will allow any other educator to contact us with questions, ideas or suggestions that we can add to our website to build up our resources. We hope for this to become an annual event at St. Agnes.
Testimonies
After the event ended we asked staff for their feedback. We are pleased to say that the feedback we received from the staff was extremely positive. They stated that the event was well thought out and planned, the organization was on point and the timing was excellent. We received many compliments on our opening and closing ceremonies because they included the whole school and truly showed how wonderful the community of St. Agnes is. Our principal Mr. Shea was very proud of us and had full confidence in us right from the get go. He allowed us to take the lead and thought that we did a lovely job planning and implementing the event. Each student who we spoke to after the event expressed how much fun they had and how they wished that the event would have gone on for the whole day.
Next Steps/What We Learned
The event went well and ran smoothly, but like every project, there is always room for improvement.
One thing we had to think about was accessibility due to one of the students being in a wheelchair. This particular student had to travel to portables and needed assistance from the principal to travel to different stations. We need to keep these accommodations in mind and devise a plan that has activities on the first floor of the school that cater to students in wheelchairs.
We also think it would be beneficial to make the math olympics a full day event in the future, rather than a half day event. Each math activity ran for 15 minutes, and students were given approximately 3 minutes to travel to different classes. It occurred to us that 15 minutes may not be enough time for an entire class to complete an activity. In the primary grades, they take washroom breaks throughout the day and this cut into their activity time. We extended some activities for this reason. Our final activity ran into lunch time, and we were able to extend lunch. In the future, having the math olympics as a full-day event will allow students to focus on an activity for more time and absorb more mathematical material.
Finally, we think it would be nice to incorporate more of the arts in the math olympics opening ceremony. We had students create team flags, team names, and cheers to explore creativity and create excitement. Perhaps we could have had students create a dance to begin our opening ceremonies. Also, students could have painted or created olympic banners/posters to hang in the gymnasium to display during the event. One last thought we had was to have the school band play some music instead of solely using a device. This would allow students to become more involved in the process and show their talents.
We also think it would be beneficial to make the math olympics a full day event in the future, rather than a half day event. Each math activity ran for 15 minutes, and students were given approximately 3 minutes to travel to different classes. It occurred to us that 15 minutes may not be enough time for an entire class to complete an activity. In the primary grades, they take washroom breaks throughout the day and this cut into their activity time. We extended some activities for this reason. Our final activity ran into lunch time, and we were able to extend lunch. In the future, having the math olympics as a full-day event will allow students to focus on an activity for more time and absorb more mathematical material.
Finally, we think it would be nice to incorporate more of the arts in the math olympics opening ceremony. We had students create team flags, team names, and cheers to explore creativity and create excitement. Perhaps we could have had students create a dance to begin our opening ceremonies. Also, students could have painted or created olympic banners/posters to hang in the gymnasium to display during the event. One last thought we had was to have the school band play some music instead of solely using a device. This would allow students to become more involved in the process and show their talents.