MATHS
McKinnon Secondary College
MATHS COMPETITION RESULTS
Throughout 2026 McKinnon students completed papers in competitions run by the Australian Mathematics Trust (AMT). These are the Australian Informatics Olympiad, Australian Maths Competition (AMC), and the Computational and Algorithmic Thinking Competition (CAT) and the Maths Challenge.
This year McKinnon had outstanding results and the number of students who participated was fantastic. We encourage all students to get involved next year.
AUSTRALIAN INFORMATICS OLYMPIAD
Ryan Xu
Ryan truly excelled in the AIO receiving Gold and Perfect Score awards that were presented at the AMT State Awards evening in October.
As a faculty we would like to recognise the following students who were in the top 3% of results.
AUSTRALIAN MATHS COMPETITION
High Distinctions
Sreevanth Burugu – Junior Division (Best in School) (Year 7)
Marcus Trang – Junior Division (Year 7)
Raphael Goldman – Junior Division (Year 8)
Alex Do – Senior Division (Year 12)
AUSTRALIAN MATHS CHALLENGE
Year 7: High Distinctions
Sreevanth Burugu
Krudhav Ravindran
Liam Rubinstein
Vivaan Shah
Year 8: High Distinctions
Raphael Goldman
Arielle Rees
Dylan Sia
James Tuladhar
Year 9: High Distinctions
Ian Kang
Marcus Leung
Namish Neeli
Anjali Parthasarathy
Alex Pham
Devin Xie
Arhan Yadav
Jason Yang
Year 10: High Distinction
Daniel Chen
COMPUTATIONAL AND ALGORITHMIC THINKING (CAT)
Ruffy Lai (Year 9)
In addition, we had 45 students who were in the top 20% and received Distinctions in the Australian Maths Competition, the most popular competition run in Australia, 22 in the AMC CAT and 14 in the Australian Maths Challenge.
Well done to all students who participated and a big thank you to Ms Greenwood, Ms McConville and Mr Killeen who coordinated all the competitions throughout the year.
CAS CALCULATORS
CAS calculators are approved by VCAA for use in General Mathematics Examination 1 and 2, Mathematical Methods Examination 2 and Specialist Mathematics Examination 2. However, there is a steep learning curve for students to become truly proficient with the technology. For this reason, we introduce the CAS in Year 10 mathematics to give students an additional year to develop these skills.
There are a variety different calculators that are approved for use and here at McKinnon we have chosen the Texas Instruments NSPIRE CAS - CXII as we believe it combines a good user interface with processing power and sophistication beyond some of the others in the marketplace.
Who needs to purchase a CAS? - All students undertaking Year 10 Methods, Year 10 General and Year 9 ELMS Maths. It is critical that every Year 10 student in Methods and General maths has a calculator to build confidence in and understanding of the technology.
Can they be purchased second-hand? - Yes, they are available second-hand either from various online sites or from a student who has completed Year 12. It is important that you purchase a new battery for any calculator that is more than 3 years old as they can become unreliable as the battery performance deteriorates.
Where can they be purchased new? - They are available at a variety of retailers and are listed on the booklist along with other required equipment.
However, we have a special arrangement with Haines Educational Suppliers through their Schoolbiz site that will allow families to purchase a calculator at a good discount and have it delivered to school for collection, early in the 2027 school year. Details regarding this offer can be found on the Compass news feed.
Finally, we understand that this is a significant investment for families, and it should be noted that each year we have around 1600 students who have a CAS calculator in the school that all look the same. When they are mislaid, it is almost impossible for us to determine ownership if they are not clearly labelled in some way.
Mr Killeen offers an engraving service each year so they can be indelibly labelled, and I encourage all students to take advantage of this or find another way to make your calculator identifiable so it can be returned to you if it is misplaced.
Emma Mullane
Key Learning Area Manager - Mathematics