Only two weeks until World Maths Day

Media statement
For immediate release
16 February 2009

Counting down - only two weeks until World Maths Day

From tomorrow it’s all go for Kiwi “mathletes” who can begin training for the world’s largest online education event – World Maths Day on 4 March.

“We expect more than one and a half million students around the world to take up the challenge and I’m really looking forward to seeing New Zealand mathletes shine online,” said 3P Learning New Zealand General Manager Yvonne Blanch today.

World Maths Day is an online maths game engine where students compete against other students from around the world in real time to answer mental arithmetic questions. The focus is on speed and accuracy and students are matched according to their age and ability.

“This event really turns old notions about maths on its head – maths can be cool, fun and exciting as thousands of mathletes will tell you.”

World Maths Day is free and open to all school students. All they need is access to the internet and to register online by 1 March at www.worldmathsday.com.

From tomorrow students can practice on the World Maths Day site in preparation for the big day on 4 March.

“Half a million children from 219 countries have already registered and at that rate almost two million will take part – way beyond anything we ever imagined,” said Yvonne.

More than 25,000 New Zealand mathletes competed against students from 163 other countries in 2008. The best placed New Zealander finished 19th and New Zealand was placed 5th overall.

“An Australian student was last year’s World Maths Day champion after answering a staggering 65,199 questions correctly so my challenge to Kiwi kids is to show that we too can be world beaters.”

World Maths Day is run on 3P Learning’s unique game engine Live Mathletics, part of the Mathletics learning platform - www.mathletics.co.nz. Tens of thousands of New Zealand students use Mathletics each day at home and at school as part of their maths learning.

Mathletics is a recognised global leader in online learning. Its innovative approach earned 3P Learning a prestigious 2009 BETT award in London last month.

“We all know that being good at maths is critical for a child’s development and self esteem and Mathletics helps by making maths exciting and relevant,” said Yvonne.

Teachers can enter their classes into World Maths Day. Matu Pene from Otumoetai Intermediate in Tauranga said his class last year revelled in “the excitement, the challenges, the camaraderie, the fun and most of all, the learning.

“I was so amazed at the improvement in the students’ maths in this short time, even from those who didn’t like maths at first.”

“It’s wonderful to see the satisfaction students get from putting their skills on the line and seeing how their mental arithmetic improves,” said Yvonne. “I’m really looking forward to New Zealand mathletes giving it their best shot on 4 March.”

Ends

Note: 3P Learning will be donating $4 from every Mathletics home license sold before 10 March to UNICEF.

Background notes

About World Maths Day
• Begins 12am, Wednesday 4 March and runs as long as it is 4 March anywhere in the world
• Free and open to all students from Year 1 to 13
• Registrations close Sunday 1 March
• Students compete in 60 second real time contests with others around the world
• Students instantly see a tally of their scores and relative position in the world
• Teachers can enter entire classes and track their students’ progress

In 2008:
• 1,099,128 students participated from 7,542 cities in 164 countries
• 182,455,169 questions were answered correctly
• The challenge record was 96 questions answered in 60 seconds
• 25,000 New Zealand students competed from more than 400 schools
• New Zealand was placed 5th
• The highest placed New Zealander finished 19th

About Mathletics
• The world’s most used mathematics website
• Trusted and regularly used by more than 700 New Zealand schools and 40,000 students
• Students have answered more than 4 billion questions since Mathletics was launched in 2006 in Live Mathletics
• Interactive activities tailored to the New Zealand curriculum for years 1 to 13 with full support designed to engage students every day and motivate them to improve their results
• Students receive immediate feedback so they know how they are progressing
• Homework can be set and marked online
• Teachers can monitor their students’ progress
• Parents can access their child’s work, certificates and reports online
• Developed and maintained by 3P Learning Pty Ltd, based in Sydney, a global leader in online mathematics learning with offices in New Zealand, UK, Canada, US and South Africa
• Shareholders include NineMSN, PBL Media, Pascal Press and Time Warner

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