Answers to some frequently asked questions

The following questions are answered below. If your question is not addressed, please contact us.

• Do we have to conduct our activities during National Literacy and Numeracy Week 2008 (1-7 September)?
• What coin(s) should we use? Do all students have to use the same kind of coin?
• Do we have to use a coin?
• Can the students only record one throw from each 'throwing distance'?
• Do we have to use more than one 'throwing distance'?
• Does it matter whether we make our own target?
• Other teachers at school are also interested in being involved. Do they need to register?
• Why does the registration form ask if I want to receive updates about National Reading Day?
• Why do the registration form and email messages look different from last year?
• Why did I get an email asking me to confirm my registration?
• Why didn't I get an email after I registered?

Do we have to conduct our activities during National Literacy and Numeracy Week 2008 (1-7 September)?

No. We know that time constraints can be difficult! You are welcome to run the activities earlier or later than this. However, only schools which complete the online data submission form before 10pm (AEST) on Friday 5 September will be entered in the draw for the MacBook laptop computers (supplied by Apple) and electronic Macquarie School Dictionary packs (from Franklin Electronic Publishers).

What coin(s) should we use? Do all students have to use the same kind of coin?

Choice of coin is up to the group. There us an opportunity to report your choice on the data submission form for 'Target 1'. We hope that many groups will choose to report results using just one kind of coin (e.g. 20 cent), or to report results using two different kinds of coin separately, so that the shared national data will allow students to compare results obtained using different coins.

Do we have to use a coin?

Coins are being used as these are readily available items of standard sizes. However, if it is more appropriate for your group to use an alternative item for any reason then that is fine. There will be room to report this on the data submission form for 'Target 1'. ( Reach for the Stars always recognises the need for teachers to adopt and adapt as appropriate for their students' needs!).

Can the students only record one throw from each 'throwing distance'?

No. Any number of results can be reported - the number of throws by any individual and the total number of throws by the group can be determined by the group.

Do we have to use more than one 'throwing distance'?

No. However, if your group does use two or more different throwing distances, make sure you keep the results for each distance separate and report them as "Experiment 1', 'Experiment 2' etc.

Does it matter whether we make our own target?

No. For some students, constructing and assembling the necessary circles will be a useful learning opportunity, and we encourage teachers of those students to allow them to do this (even though the products may be of varying degrees of accuracy). For others - particularly very young students - this activity will not be useful and teachers are welcome to download and print the targets provided, or to use the poster distributed with AAMT's professional journals. There will be a space on the data submission form for each group to report the type of target they used (i.e. whether made by students, made by a teacher, downloaded and printed etc.).

Other teachers at school are also interested in being involved. Do they need to register?

This is entirely up to the teachers and schools involved. Everyone who fills in a registration form with a valid e-mail address will receive e-mail updates and an invitation to provide feedback to us at the conclusion of the project. Many schools choose to have a single coordinator who receives and distributes information, but each school is welcome to register as many teachers as they wish.

Why does the registration form ask if I want to receive updates about National Reading Day?

Reach for the Stars (conducted by The Australian Association of Mathematics Teachers) and National Reading Day (conducted by the Australian Association for the Teaching of English and the Australian Literacy Educators' Association) are two of the key events for National Literacy and Numeracy Week. The registration form has been designed to include both events so that teachers who wish to register for both only need to fill in a single form.

Why do the registration form and email messages look different from last year?

We are using new software to help us to process registrations and communicate with interested teachers. The appearance is a little different, but we hope it will result in better service to you! We are always interested in your feedback, so if you have any comments please let us know.

Why did I get an email asking me to confirm my registration?

This is a security measure to make sure that the person whose email address is entered into the registration form actually wants us to send information to them.

Why didn't I get an email after I registered?

If you filled in the registration form and didn't get an email asking you to confirm your registration, then something has gone wrong! If there was a typo in your email address, or if your email system is set up to reject newsletter-style emails, then we won't be able to contact you. If you think either of these things may have happened to you, please contact us and we will find a solution.