English News 

Kids’ Cancer Council Charity Event: Write a Book in a Day (WABIAD)  

Despite lockdown preventing us from enjoying the full 'Write a Book in a Day’ experience, we were still able to conduct it online. Although the circumstances were different from the regular WABIAD schedule, our teachers (Mrs Lee-Ack, Mrs Ward, Mrs Reddy and Dr Schroor) were there to support us and cheer us on every step of the way. It was a great way to connect with our friends after not seeing them since lockdown began, while working towards a good cause and raising donations for childhood cancer research. It was so exciting watching our book come together piece by piece and being able to see everyone collaborate. 

The last hour of the 12-hour day was the most stressful, despite us being ahead of schedule the whole day, as we were frantically trying to put all the final pieces together. It was so rewarding to see all our time and effort (and snacks) pay off as we were able to come out with a final copy of our book. It was most definitely a once-in-a-lifetime experience, and we would all recommend students to participate in the coming years. 

We would also like to thank the teachers running WABIAD (Mrs Lee-Ack, Mrs Ward, Mrs Reddy and Dr Schroor) for being so supportive and uplifting the entire day, and enabling us to participate in such a worthy cause. 

Olivia Nguyen

Year 12

House Debating

House Debating has continued online for the second year in a row thanks to the hard work of all staff and students involved. To kick off the event on Monday 9 August, Phoenix and Pegasus battled it out on the topic of whether "the Olympics are more trouble than they are worth". Both teams, comprised primarily of junior students, presented some impressive cases. However, ultimately the affirmative team, Phoenix, took home the win with their case highlighting Olympic's history of economic and social inequality. On Tuesday 10 August, Garuda and Griffin debated on the topic of whether "we should fear the development of artificial intelligence". It was an entertaining and high-level debate, and Garuda was crowned the winner with a case focused on the risks of social inequality, altered political discourse and the opportunity for destructive weaponry. Phoenix and Garuda will go head-to-head in the final round, which has been postponed until we are able to celebrate all the debater's achievements in a physical space. Well done to everyone involved, and we look forward to the finals!

Nalini Jacob-roussety 

Year12