Dear Parents, Caregivers and Friends of St Mary’s School,

I was at the rugby on Saturday night with my father and we were remembering, as we walked to the ground, how he taught me the times tables.

Dad was very old school, and he believed in learning the tables by rote. So for a couple of years many of my evenings were spent going two ones are two, six sevens are forty two, and so on.

The sticking point for me was the seven times but through perseverance I developed at least a mastery. My sister who is younger never needed to learn by rote she was one of these people capable of picturing the groups in her mind and giving you the right answer.

My youngest sister drew the objects to be multiplied—coloured in circles or squares and this worked for her.

All of us mastered our tables but we got there in different ways. The key was perseverance—to achieve anything you have to perservere but also support at home is vital.

I probably never told Dad how much he had helped but I think that he knows deep inside, in fact I think I’ll tell him this

weekend.

Have a great week,

Mike Brosnahan.