Magis report
'Cogito, ergo sum - I think, therefore I am', is the first principle of Rene Descartes’s philosophy and the focal point of our Year 8 Magis class. Over the past few weeks, our Year 8 Magis Elective students have been studying Descartes’ Cartesian Skepticism and how his ideas influenced the work of John Locke and Sir Isaac Newton. They have also been examining Thomas Aquinas’s cosmological argument, which Descartes considered when forming his own opinion on the existence of God. Next week, our students will test their knowledge in a philosophy validation assessment, and we wish them the best of luck.
Pictured below are some of our Year 8 Magis students getting into the philosophy headspace (pun intended).
In celebration of HASS week, our Term 2 Homeroom Academic Challenge tested students’ knowledge of Humanities, Art, Languages and Literature. Student representatives from Years 7 to 10 took part in a quiz and we congratulate the following Year group winners:
| Year 7 | Will Dutton | St Louis |
| Year 8 | Alyssa Mignacca | St Louis |
| Year 9 | Joseph Nankivell Joseph Scott | St Louis Campion |
| Year 10 | Luisa Parish | Campion |
With our Year 11 and 12 students returning next week, following their Semester 1 exams, they will complete this challenge on Wednesday. We look forward to releasing the overall House champion results in next week’s College Newsletter.
The final of our College Public Speaking Heats was held this week. Students from Years 7 to 12 have presented three-minute speeches on a wide range of topics. The standard of these speeches has truly been outstanding, and I commend all students who have participated. It was exceptionally difficult to choose who would go through to the grand final, and I would like to take this opportunity to thank the wonderful academic staff who had the unenviable task of adjudicating the heats: Ms Gray, Ms Morris (Notre Dame University Prac Student) and Mr Webber from the English Department, and Ms Pickering and Mrs Gregory-Turner from the Religious Education Department.
Our 2023 Public Speaking Grand Finalists are (topics listed):
| Year 7 | Sophie Littlewood Chantal Pallis Zachary Sartorello Alessio Torre | Greek Mythology Climate Change Taste WWII Internment Camps |
| Year 8 | Christopher Cooney Ewa Krolik Richard McDiven | The Republic Debate School Uniforms TBC |
| Year 9 | Noa Mintz Sasha Pallis Charlie Pronk | Love The critical path to net zero US gun laws |
| Year 10 | Caleb Faulkner Hill Luke Green Aditi Nguyen Jennifer Ong | Civil Disobedience Gratitude Plant Music Power of Words |
| Year 11 | Felix Frichot Thomas Syminton Massimo Torre | Existentialism Science TBC |
| Year 12 | Daniel Doran Yvette Rigg | Modern Art, The CIA, and the Cold War TBC |
The grand final of our College Public Speaking Competition will be held next Thursday 8 June at 6:30pm in the Gonzaga Barry Lecture Theatre. Invitations have been sent to the parents and guardians of our grand finalists, and we extend the invitation to the wider College Community. It is certainly going to be a very informative and engaging evening – with a panel of Magis Alumni who will be tasked with choosing the top speaker from each year group.
Round 4 of our College Chess Tournament was also held this week, and we congratulate the following students who will be progressing to the quarter-finals:
| Daniel Tan | Year 5 |
| Christopher Tan | Year 7 |
| James Sommerfield | Year 8 |
| Joshua Standen | Year 8 |
| Adam Clarke | Year 8 |
| Hunter Bovell | Year 10 |
| Thomas Hudson | Year 11 |
| Massimo Torre | Year 11 |
| Robert Douglass | Year 12 |
Fixtures have been emailed to chess players and can be found on the Magis Noticeboard and in SEQTA notices. We wish all our players the best of luck with their next game. Special thanks to Mr Connellan and Ms De Pinto for their ongoing support and assistance.
Lastly, we wish all our World Scholars Teams the best of luck as they compete in the 2023 Perth Regional Round of the World Scholars Cup. Pictured below are our teams boarding a bus very early this morning. Today’s round was held at Aquinas College, with tomorrow’s program to be held at Sacred Heart College. You can click on the link to view the two-day Schedule of Events. We look forward to hearing about their experience in next week’s College Newsletter.
MAGIS: OPPORTUNITIES TO DO MORE!
FameLab Academy
FameLab is the largest, public-facing science communication competition and training program in the world, hosted in over 35 countries. FameLab Academy is run in Western Australia and is the schools’ version for Years 8 and Years 9 students. This competition was created to develop young people as science communicators by increasing their scientific knowledge and building their confidence and communication skills. There are great prizes! The winner will receive a cash prize of $1,500, and two runners-up will each receive $1,000. For more information, please see the Magis Coordinator. Expressions of interest are due by Friday 2 June.
Creative Edge Thinking
The Creative Edge Problem Solving Challenge is an innovative educational competition providing students with motivating challenges that will develop both critical and creative thinking skills. Students compete in teams to solve an open-ended challenge in one of the following disciplines: Literature and Communication or Society and Environment (HASS). This year’s regional final will be held at Curtin University. For more information, please see the Magis Coordinator. Expressions of interest are due by Monday 5 June.
Tournament of Minds
Tournament of Minds (TOM) is an international problem-solving program for teams of students. TOM's aim is to enhance the potential of our youth by developing diverse skills, enterprise, time management, and the discipline to work collaboratively within a challenging and competitive environment. Teams will be required to solve demanding, open-ended challenges in the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) discipline. Regional and state finals will be held at Edith Cowan University in September (Term 3) with the international final to be held in Melbourne in October. For more information, please see the Magis Coordinator. Expressions of interest are due by Monday 5 June.
TEDx Kings Park Youth Competition
Win you own TEDx talk! If you’re a West Australian aged 14-21 with an idea for change, TEDx Kings Park, in partnership with Curtin University, can help. Your idea could be small and handy, or big and world-changing, for people, for the environment, maybe for the world. If you’re one of the five finalists, you’ll share your idea on the main stage of the State Theatre Centre of WA at the TEDx Kings Park Youth Event (see below). Entry is easy: Simply upload a 30-second video of you sharing your idea by 30 June. Five finalists will receive professional curation and coaching in public speaking. For more information click here, or speak with the Magis Coordinator.
Invitation to TEDx Kings Park Youth Event
Australia’s largest TEDx event for young people is back, at the State Theatre Centre of WA on Saturday 29 July. In one action-packed afternoon, students aged 14-21 will experience nine world premiere TEDx talks, performances and short films from WA’s young creative community and, in the breaks, interactive installations and complimentary food and refreshments. This is a powerful event for young people: to be stimulated by fresh ideas, and original approaches, and connect with the global TEDx community. If you would like to attend as part of our College delegation, please email your expression of interest to the Magis Coordinator by 30 June.
Term 2 calendar
You can keep up to date with Magis and Altiora events by following the Term 2 calendar which can be accessed by clicking on the link below.
Daisy Farley
Magis Coordinator – Gifted and Talented