Today there have been a number of special events across the school with Year 9s returning from their adventures in Central Australia and Vietnam, Year 11s enjoying the second day of their leadership camp, Years 8 and 10 participating in a special cross-age program and Year 5s taking part in the Maths Games Day. This last event is particularly important in promoting positive experiences of Mathematics for girls – and also serves as a reminder of how vital it is that we make an effort to send messages which inspire confidence when students are working mathematically. All too easily some of us can find ourselves saying “I was no good at Maths at school” or “I’m not really a mathematical thinker” – these throw away lines can lower expectations in students and inadvertently suggest that they will probably not be successful. Instead we might try saying “Maths can sometimes really stretch our thinking – so it is great that you are persisting to give it a go” or “I sometimes found it hard to have a growth mindset around Maths at school so I’m really glad that you are able to”. Students of any age can benefit from having parents engage them in activities that require mathematical skills such as cooking, calculating measurements, estimating, calculating percentages or discounts in shops, converting currency, managing money or other everyday tasks. Most Lowther Hall girls take a Mathematics subject all the way through to Year 12 as many university courses require Maths. Anything we can do to make the Maths journey a positive one for our girls will help them to be as successful as possible along the way.