Dear Parents/Carer,
Maths – Sparx Maths Homework launches this week
As you are aware, Hegarty Maths is changing to Sparx maths.
Over the last fortnight we have been busy introducing Sparx to every maths class within our SJP community to ensure that all pupils can login to their account.
Below are the videos we have shared with pupils in lessons and they have also had access to computers to complete their login. If present, your child’s class teacher would have supported your child to login and we have encouraged them to write their username and password in their planners. It was also encouraged that your child completed the practice homework as part of a familiarisation process to the site. The link to the videos shared in class are here:
Student friendly version: what Sparx is and how to use it.
Student friendly version: how to login as a student.
Your child’s first maths homework on Sparx has been set this week. Each week, your child will be set a homework assignment to complete on the site. Each task is personalised based on the ability of the learner and learners will also see some questions from topics they have previously covered so they have the opportunity to keep practising the skills they have acquired. Sparx homework is not marked as complete until all of the questions have been answered correctly. Sparx believes, and their research has shown, that 60 minutes a week of this type of personalised home learning is the best length for achieving the best impact.
We appreciate that parents will of course want to support their child with their home learning. However, please understand that if you give your child the answers, there is a risk that the homework will get too hard for them. It is therefore really important that your child completes their homework independently and watches the support videos, or reaches out to their teacher, if they are stuck. Pupils are required to use their maths exercise book when they complete their homework to show all the necessary steps in their working out. This will also support them in the importance of showing how they have reached a calculation. The Sparx platform has built in ‘book checks’ and asks pupils to re-enter information from previous questions to ensure they are completing this.
If there are any issues with the digital learning provision, please be aware that we have computers available for use in our library after school. It may also be possible to loan a computer from school. Please contact the HOL team if this is something you feel may be required. In addition to this, the maths team facilitate a homework club after school every Monday in Maths 4 from 3:10 – 4:10pm.
If you have any questions regarding Sparx Maths, please contact Miss McCann (Second in Maths) or Mrs Jones (Head of Maths) by emailing the school office at schooloffice@stjohnplessington.com.
Yours faithfully
Mrs K Jones
Head of Maths