Starting March 20th, 2023, the Superior North Catholic District School Board Math Team is hosting a Board-wide Reflex Challenge. Grade 1-8 teachers and students are encouraged to use Reflex at a minimum of 20 minutes to a maximum of 50 minutes per week (average 10 minutes twice a week or 10 minutes daily) to boost confidence and automaticity with their math facts. This can be done in class and/or at home.

As the Board Wide Reflex Challenge kicks off, we are sharing a positive story of growth from St. Edward Catholic School. Konstantine, from St. Edward Catholic School, just recently reached 100% Fact Fluency in Reflex Math. She has been using Reflex daily in her classroom as part of their routine set by her teacher Mrs. Murphy. She was so proud of her achievement that she asked Math Lead, Aaron Stephens, to sign her accomplishment. She even decided to frame her certificate and brought it to school! When asked about her feelings, she had the following to say "Wow, I finally did it! I'm very, very proud of it," Konstantine Thompson-Esquega, a Grade 8 Student at St. Edward Catholic School.

The Math Team asked Mrs. Murphy about the success she is having in the classroom with her use of Reflex and how she can get buy-in and engagement from her students.

“I use Reflex every day with all of my students. I have definitely seen growth with my students. I was working with my students the other day, and one of them was answering the multiplication questions pretty fast. He was excited and said, ‘Reflex is actually working!’ That was a proud moment.” – Christina Murphy, Grade ⅞ Teacher, St. Edward Catholic School

Having automaticity and recall is an important skill introduced in the new 2020 Ontario Math Curriculum (Expectation: B2.2) that helps to promote the ability for students to focus on problem-solving and learning new concepts (Geary, 1994). Mastery of basic math facts frees their working memory to tackle more complex problems without getting consumed by strained effort to solve basic operations when engaging in the problem-solving process.

As a board, Reflex is a digital math tool part of our ExploreLearning platform that includes Frax, and Gizmos. Frax helps students understand fractions through fun challenges, personalized instruction, and motivating rewards. Gizmos was recently purchased by Superior North Catholic District Board to support building inquiry, understanding and a love of math and science through interactive STEM simulations.

Ways to promote engagement and buy-in with Reflex Math in your home:

• Ask your child’s teacher for their Individual Overview Report so you can see growth as they master facts
  Celebrate Milestone facts solved in the classroom or at home
• Have your child colour in their Family Pyramid Report to promote ownership and accountability for their strong efforts
• Encourage students to practice at home to get their Green Light.

The Math Team looks forward to awarding classrooms in each school with the most improved average usage with Pizza Parties on April 27th and June 15th. As well as prizes for Individual Growth and Achievement in their math fact fluency and more… we look forward to the updated progress of school and student growth.