John XXIII College Newsletter

Magis

John XXIII College had a mixed night in round one WADL Debating at Christchurch this week with some good wins, three narrow one point losses, and problems with late topic changes for two of the teams, both of which rose to the occasion and still performed superbly.  All teams are reminded again to check the website for changes to fixtures.  It is also vital that teams which cannot practice on Monday after school organise an alternative training time, as at least two of our teams were under-prepared for the first round.  There were many fine performances on the night and we look forward to all teams working hard to develop their skills and learning from the Adjudicator and team manager feedback.  Special thanks to team managers Ms Dawson, Ms Lumley, Ms Needham, Ms Devanand and Mr Peters for their commitment to the students, and to the wonderful group of parents who supported the teams. 

 

 

John XXIII College will be involved in two major gifted and talented competitions in the next week. The first is the Creative Edge Challenge to be held at Curtin University this Saturday.  This competition which is by invitation only is similar to Tournament of Minds or Opti-MINDS, but is ideal for senior students as there is no prior preparation.  Students receive the challenges and complete them in the one morning.   Then on Tuesday and Wednesday John XXIII teams will compete in the Da Vinci Decathlon at the University of Western Australia’s Winthrop Hall. For the first time our College has a team in every year group from Years 7 to 11.  Best wishes to all teams, and special thanks to the wonderful teachers who have been assisting the students with preparation.

 

With Creative Edge and Da Vinci Decathlon concluding soon, debating continues and the second round of the WADL is at Christchurch on Tuesday night.  Rounds three to five then take place in Term 2, but there will be special Magis breakfast Debating seminars  for senior and junior debaters respectively on  Monday and Wednesday  of the final week of term.  These will feature 45-minute keynote addresses by members of the WA Debating League.  All debaters are expected to attend these free events.

 

Magis will again run two major College events in 2019, the John XXIII Public speaking Competition, and the Creative Writing – Short Stories Competition.  Entry forms for the Public Speaking competition will be available in the next few days, and there will be a Public Speaking seminar in week one next term. Heats for all years will then be held at lunchtimes in week 2, and the grand final, involving the three top speakers in each year group will be held in the in the GBLT at 7:00pm on Tuesday 14 May.   The Short Story competition involves writing a story – recommended length between 250 and 1000 words - on any topic.  Entries need to be submitted as a Word Document both in hard copy and by email and a book of best entries will be produced. Entries will close at the end of week one next term.  Information fliers are available for both the Public Speaking and Creative Writing Competitions.

 

Entries for the World Scholar’s Cup will be also be finalised this term. The WA event takes place at Sacred Heart College, Sorrento on Friday 31 May and Saturday 1 June. Multiple teams from each year group from Years 7-11 are permitted, and after the College’s success at both the Global round in Melbourne and the Tournament of Champions at Yale University, USA, last year, it is hoped to field  more teams in the 2019 Global Round which will be held in Sydney in term three, from August 14-19. Students in each year group are invited to organise teams of three themselves, or simply submit an individual entry and teams will be organised.  Preparation sessions will commence next term, but those intending to participate are encouraged to begin preparation over the holidays – several teams have already started.

 

Finally, 11 John XXIII students will be participating in the 2020 Space Camp, combining again with Corpus Christi College. Deposits should now have been paid, and families will be notified of the arrangements for the second information evening in the near future.

 

Jim Miller

Gifted and Talented Coordinator

Magis & Altiora Calendar

Term One

  • March 30 - Creative Edge at Curtin Uni
  • April 2-3 - Da Vinci Decathlon at UWA
  • April 9  - Short Story Entries due

Term Two

  • May 1 - Magis Public Speaking Breakfast
  • May 6 - Magis Public Speaking Heats
  • May 10 - Julie Arliss G/T at St Hilda’s
  • May 14 - Magis Public Speaking Final (GBLT)
  • May 17-18 - World Scholar’s Cup Camp
  • May 23 - Mental Maths Challenge
  • May 31 - J1 World Scholar’s regionals SHC
  • June 12 - Magis Academic Knowledge
  • June 26 - Magis Awards & Personal Project Breakfast
Magis Calendar Semester One.pdf