(A screenshot from a video of our performance – we make the best sheep. Pic/ Vid credit: Eleez)

Showing our appreciation for maths (and Mr. De Silva) with this assembly

On Thursday the 8th of December, the Higher Level Analysis and Approaches class put together an assembly – which was led by our teacher, Mr. De Silva – on the beauty and applications of maths, and where our appreciation for maths stems from.

This idea was brought up by Mr. De Silva and we all sent in the lines that we’d like to speak at the assembly. Then, he put together a script to support his presentation and added in opportunities for us to put our acting skills to the test.

The acts for this assembly were based on mathematical scenarios and applications in real life – most of which were discussed in the book that Mr. De Silva released a few months ago. It must be noted that some of these scenarios had also been talked about in class, sometimes during our weekly Maths Scenes.

After putting together the script and allocating roles for every class member, we had a run-through during class on how things will be carried out.

On the day of, everyone was excited to put together this assembly and it was delightful to watch from backstage as the seats of the auditorium filled up. My main acts were that of a farmer counting his sheep (I was such a well-behaved sheep), and being a customer that scammed Andrian out of $10. Despite being a bit nervous to stand in front of the entire secondary school, I was heartened by the yells of support from my friends in the audience and the reactions.

Overall, I think that the assembly went very well – although I was a bit disappointed that my sheep ears didn’t stay up all the way! After the assembly, many teachers and friends expressed their enjoyment and talked about their favourite parts. We had many laughs and enjoyment throughout this process, and I’m thankful to Mr. De Silva and Dr. Mechum for this idea, it was something extremely memorable!

Learning outcomes:

• LO1 – Strength and growth
  • As I haven’t gotten up on stage for quite a while, it was a bit nerve-wracking to do this assembly (even if it was rather short). But with the support of my peers and reassurance from the audience’s reactions, I was able to carry out my roles confidently.
  • It was actually quite beneficial that I was able to expand on my growth with this, as later on, that day was my performance for the Gala. 

• LO4 – Working collaboratively with others
  • There was quite a lot of communication required before and during the assembly, and we wouldn’t have been able to pull it off without everyone’s teamwork. This was seen particularly in relation to script changes or how certain acts would be carried out.