I would like to congratulate the Australian Association of Mathematics Teachers and all Connect with Maths Day participants for your innovative work in supporting the teaching of mathematics in schools through access to high quality online networks, resources and activities.

The Australian Government has funded this project in recognition of the need to enhance the teaching of mathematics in schools across the country. Three-quarters of the fastest-growing occupations in Australia require skills in science, engineering, technology and maths (STEM). We need to put our students in the best possible position to access these exciting opportunities.

The Australian Association of Mathematics Teachers is a partner in this endeavour, as the Connect with Maths project amply demonstrates. The Government is also appreciative of the Association’s contribution to the $7.4 million Mathematics by Inquiry initiative, which is helping to strengthen the nation’s all-important STEM capacity through the development of innovative mathematics resources for primary and secondary school teachers and students. The effort you contribute to projects like Connect with Maths and Mathematics by Inquiry will reap big rewards in the future. The more we engage our students in primary and secondary schools in mathematics today, the stronger our STEM capacity will be tomorrow.

I wish you all the best for Connect with Maths Day and look forward to hearing about its outcomes.

Yours sincerely
Simon Birmingham

The Connect with Maths Day is a celebration of the achievements of the project over the last three years. Our intention was to establish online learning communities that provide teachers across Australia with access to high level expertise and resources in school mathematics. Certainly the range of presentations reflects the wide range of interests and needs in among teachers across the five Connect with Maths communities.

The day is also a springboard into the future. As this first phase of building online learning communities in mathematics draws to a close in the middle of 2016, AAMT is building towards continuing to foster and inform connections between members of these communities as part of the Dimensions portal of professional learning resources. Dimensions, which will be available in beta form later in 2016, will make high quality professional learning programs available to schools around the country – the legacy of Connect with Maths will be the online communities that will connect people around those programs, thus providing deeper and more sustained engagement in improving school mathematics for our young people.

On behalf of the Council of AAMT I would like to take this opportunity to thank our partners in the Connect with Maths day – especially all the presenters who have been prepared to work with us on this ambitious and innovative venture – and to recognise the vision and drive of project manager Renee Hoareau.

Will Moroney
CEO, AAMT