HSTM is Back!

Mar 6, 2023

#12 High Schools

Student teams from a total of 12 schools registered for the competition

A participant who has been in previous HSTMs says

Mr. Etienne Bilz, from Shanghai Community International School - Pudong, has taken students on HSTM several times. He said, "It is a different way of driving students to learn mathematics. During the challenge activities, students not only get to feel the fun and wonder of mathematics, but it even opens the door to the world of mathematics for them."

First-time participants say

Mr. Moey Sayanvala, a teacher from EtonHouse International School Suzhou, entered his students into this competition for the first time. He said, "Through HSTM, apart from giving students the experience of learning mathematics, it is also very rewarding to make different friends."

For Ray W, a DHSZ Y12 student, it was also his first time participating in HSTM, and the experience was new and memorable for him. "I think I learnt a lot from the HSTM, and it was a great opportunity for me because it not only improved my knowledge of mathematics but also tested my ability to work as a team. We also went to HB World and did some exploring in it, which I found very rewarding and interesting."

#Unique sessions

A different kind of competition where 'collaboration' is the key to solving problems

Pleasant cooperation in the first meeting

The HSTM differs from traditional competitions in that the challenges are designed to test the ability of collaboration. For example, one of the sessions, called the ‘Buddy Round’’ was a team competition, but the "teams’ were improvised, and each team consisted of six members from different schools. This was a great challenge for the students in terms of communication, coordination and teamwork skills. It impressed Ray a lot: "Having teammates from different schools really tested our social skills!"

Edutainment

The ‘Maths Arena’ is not just on our campus. There are also outdoor challenge sessions that allow students to get out of the classroom and use their mathematical knowledge to solve real-world problems.

Students were surprised to 'land' at HB World for an even more exciting journey of maths! Each student was given a special digital map of the park when they entered, on which they would find many specially-marked HSTM logos, and clicking on the logo would reveal the maths questions, such as calculating the height of a recreation facility based on its shadow in the light, which the students had to go and calculate in the vicinity of the facility in order to answer.

Mr Martin Crozier said that he combined maths with an amusement park to help students see how mathematics is connected to the real world.

There is always something to learn in teaching

In addition to allowing students to explore the wonders of mathematics in different forms, we also arranged professional training for teachers: Professor Ron Lancaster from the University of Toronto shared the importance of adapting teaching to students' needs in the classroom.

#SpotlightMoment

Well done!

Congratulations, ALL participants!

After two days of intense competition in various formats, we came to the exciting moment of the awards. The winning team was awarded a trophy, and each team member received a certificate of achievement. However, more important is that all participants took away valuable experiences, unforgettable memories and made new friends from different schools!

Mr. Crozier was delighted to see students enjoying the competition. “It was really good also to see our students compete. From a social perspective, a lot of students around China have not had an opportunity of being with and meet students from other schools. You sort of study and learn a little bit of a bubble. We had eight students compete in two teams. I think, on one of the rounds, one of our teams came forth, which is excellent. But they also realized that there are many students around that are much better than them. Actually, that's a really good thing to experience as a young person. Because you draw power from that, you start to realize how much harder maybe you need to work and how much more you need to read, how much more you need to improve your English. So our students spending time with students from other schools and other backgrounds has been a really valuable experience for them during the competition.”

We are honoured to have invited Mr. Zillmann, who has been leading the creation and transformation of Worldwise Events. He shared with us that,

“The annual High School Team Maths competition is one of the highlights of our Worldwise Events programme bringing together students and teachers from across Asia with a shared passion. This year, under the theme “Fully Connected”, we had over 100 students from 12 schools joining. Over the 2 days they were working in teams not only from their respective schools but also mixed up with students from other schools. They had fun and explosive relay rounds that required quick thinking, and they also undertook a math trial outside the classroom where they used mathematics to help better understand the world around them. This holistic approach not only helped students to challenge their mathematical knowledge, but also gave them the opportunity to make connections and build friendships, supporting the development of their socio-emotional skills. The event has been an outstanding success with excellent organisation from the host DHSZ. I’m very much looking forward to the next chapter of the competition!”

*Thanks to Mr. Zillmann for taking the beautiful photos of the event~

As one of the founders of HSTM, Mr Crozier was even more impressed:

“This weekend just passed. We've been very, very lucky to be able to host the HSTM 2023. This is really exciting because the last time we were able to do this was back in February 2019.

“For me, this competition is very special. It's not a competition for maths where students sit down and just answer questions and hand them in. This competition focuses on creativity, collaboration, and communication, so students are required to work as a team. If they don't work as a team, then they don't do so well in the competition. It was really, really good to see 12 schools, just over a hundred students and just short of 20 teachers all come together to celebrate and enjoy a mathematics competition. One of the things with this competition is we also make students join teams of six with students from other schools. So in each team, there are different students from different schools. What's really lovely is at the beginning of that type of competition, the students are very shy and they struggle to communicate properly with each other. But by the gala dinner on Saturday, everybody there is talking to each other, laughing and enjoying the competition. We're looking forward to organizing and hosting HSTM 2024!”

Acknowledgment:

Teams of students and teachers from 12 schools, thank you for your enthusiasm and love of mathematics,

please keep it up~