Extended Learning

Emmaus Debating Teams Honoured at Government House

Our two winning Debating teams were proudly presented with their awards at Government House yesterday. Her Excellency Frances Adamson AC, Governor of South Australia and Patron of Debating SA, together with Mr Bunten, hosted a reception to celebrate this year’s winners, runners-up, and Debaters of the Yea

Students were proudly accompanied by Mrs Hinrichsen, Junior School Principal; Mrs Grear, Secondary School Principal; Mrs Ellis, Director of Year 7–8; Mr Rodda, Extended Learning Key Teacher and Mr Lee, Secondary School Teacher.

Nearly 300 debating teams from 64 primary and secondary schools (1,350 students in total) - participating in this year’s event.

The Emmaus Grand Finalists

Year 8 White — Mia, Cara, Diana, and Liya, coached by Megan (Year 10) and Mr Rodda — debated affirmatively on the topic: “Australia should implement an opt-out system for organ donation.”

Year 6 Quokkas — Zoe, Charis, Adesina, Grace, and Tanisha, coached by Caroline Wicks and Mr Lee — debated affirmatively on the topic: “Dreamworld should be allowed to expand.”

This is an incredible achievement for our Emmaus debaters — congratulations to all involved! 

Celebrating more Emmaus wins in Junior School STEM Competitions

This term, a number of our Junior School students (Years 4-6) took part in several national competitions that challenged their problem-solving, creativity, and critical-thinking skills - and their hard work has paid off!

1. The CREST Awards, run by CSIRO, recognise students for innovative science and technology projects. Participants design and carry out their own investigations, applying real-world scientific processes and creativity to solve problems.

   Congratulations to Charlotte (Year 5), who was awarded a Blue CREST Medallion for her open investigation into Food Waste.

    

2. The Australian Mathematics Competition (AMC), also run by AMT, is one of the world’s largest maths competitions. It challenges students with thought-provoking questions that reward persistence, reasoning, and creativity over rote calculation.

   Special congratulations to Libby (Year 4) and Chloe (Year 4) for achieving Distinction Awards in the Middle Primary division, and to Arthur (Year 5) and Sam (Year 6for receiving Distinction Awards in the Upper Primary division.

    

3. The Computational and Algorithmic Thinking (CAT) Competition, hosted by the Australian Maths Trust (AMT), focuses on logical reasoning and pattern recognition rather than coding. It encourages students to think like computer scientists - breaking down problems, identifying structures, and planning solutions step-by-step.

    

   Although no top awards were received in the CAT competition this year, the 40 students from Years 5 to 10 competing is a great sign of growing interest and enthusiasm for logical thinking and problem-solving.

    

We’re proud of all students who took part in these challenging events and demonstrated curiosity, courage, and perseverance in their learning. We look forward to celebrating more results and achievements as they come in — well done to all our budding mathematicians, scientists, and problem-solvers!

Nick Rodda

Extended Learning Key Teacher