Hitting the books instead of the beaches

Sixteen-year-old Katherine Knauseder has traded her free time for a calculator this week.

Sixteen-year-olds Katrina Kelton, right, Katherine Knauseder, centre, and Ben Schuster, left, are among 40 students attending holiday maths classes led by USQ Maths lecturer John Murray at the campus this week.

Katherine is one of about 40 high school students attending four days of maths classes held at the University of Southern Queensland Fraser Coast from 17-20 January.

Katherine was helping clean the family home in Maryborough after the basement was swamped during the recent floods.

‘Our family was in Sydney at the time, the water came in but there was minimal damage.’ Katherine said.

Katherine will start her year 12 studies next week at St Mary’s College.

Fellow student Ben Schuster, 16, said the Success in Maths B classes really helped clear out the cobwebs which had developed over the holidays.

‘It’s a good opportunity for us to review all the work we did last year,’ Ben said.

‘There’s a lot we have forgotten, the classes will probably give us a bit of a head start too.’

Ben said he’d only be sitting at home playing Nintendo games if he wasn’t in class.

Aldridge High student Katrina Kelton, 16, said she’d be horse riding.

‘I need a good OP score because I want to study criminal law and become a barrister,’ Katrina said.

The free workshops have been run at the University’s Fraser Coast campus for the past nine years under the direction of associate lecturer John Murray.

‘The aim is to give high school students the basic skills necessary to succeed in their maths subjects, particularly algebra,’ John said.

‘This is the area where most students struggle in high school maths as they come through from years nine and ten.’

John is being assisted at the workshops by several USQ Education students who are training to become maths teachers.

Contact Details:
Katrina Corcoran, USQ Media, +61 7 4194 3167