Magis Report 

The final Academic Challenge for the term was held on Tuesday morning, with our Year 7 and 8 students taking part in a quiz which tested their skills in spelling. It was great to see students getting into the House spirit, with some eager students arriving very early to test each other before the challenge began. How supercalifragilisticexpialidocious is that? Congratulations to our Year group winners:  

• Year 7: Charlotte Birdseye (Koolyangarra)
• Year 8: Siena Hill (Loyola)

Congratulations to St Louis House – the overall champions for the 2025 Spelling Challenge. Pictured below is Mr Mazur’s Homeroom, Year 11 St Louis, celebrating their win, as the top performing Year 11 Homeroom. This Homeroom has won their age division for the past four years – an outstanding achievement to be sure.

Our Academic Challenges are held throughout the year, with each Homeroom nominating up to 10 students to take part in a quiz testing student knowledge across a number of disciplines. Challenge points go towards awarding not only the Magis Academic Cup, for the highest achieving House, but also the overall College House Shield. Other challenges this year include STEM, Humanities, Languages, Literature, Art, Music, and Theology, as well as our College Public Speaking Competition and Chess Tournament. A full list of Spelling Challenge results can be found below. We congratulate all students for striving for the Magis and taking part.

WA Debating League Update

Round 2 of WA Debating League (WADL) Schools Debating Competition (SDC) was held on Tuesday night at Shenton College. Our teams debated topics: 

• This house supports the popular use of platonic AI companions; and
• This house supports the rise of social media platforms designed for tracking and sharing hobbies.

Special thanks to Mr Webber for his supervision on the night. Our debating students are now preparing for Round 3, which will be held next term, on Tuesday, 6 May (Week 12). We will continue to provide after-school debate tutoring sessions – details to be communicated to students through their Teams channel. We congratulate all our debating students on another successful round.

What’s happening next week?

Round 1 of the WA Law Society Mock Trial Competition will be held on Thursday evening at the Supreme Court. We also have a group of students who will be attending the UN Youth State Convention over the weekend, and we look forward to hearing about their experience.  Meetings will also occur for the following competitions: WADL SDC; Senior Ethics; Mock Trials; da Vinci and World Scholars. Students are reminded to view their GATE student newsletter, the Magis Memo, on Monday to note their meeting schedule for the week.

You can keep up to date with our schedule of competitions and events by viewing the Magis calendar – which can be accessed by clicking on the link below.  

Magis: Opportunities to do more!

Ethics Olympiad Case Writing Awards

Please note: This competition is suited to students who have completed or are familiar with an Ethics Olympiad. Students in Years 7 to12 are invited to submit a case which, if chosen, would be used internationally for both the Middle School and Senior Ethics Olympiads. Information can be found on the attached flyer and/or on the competition's website. Prize money and prestige to be won! Cases are to be submitted directly to Ethics Olympiad by 25 April (Term 1 school holidays).

STEM Design Competition

Catholic Education WA (CEWA) have launched this STEM design competition, with the aim to get student perspectives. Put your innovation into action and design a digital logo or graphic that visually depicts what CEWA STEM is all about. This competition is open to all CEWA students. Winning designs will be displayed and celebrated at the 2025 CEWA STEM Showcases. To submit an entry, email the Head of Magis, your design by Monday, 12 May (Term 2, Week 13). Please note: Digital tools could include (but are not limited to) canva, seesaw, sketches, pages, word, keynote etc.

Tournament of Minds 

Tournament of Minds (TOM) is an international problem-solving program for teams of students. TOM aims 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), Languages & Literature, or Society & Environment (HASS) disciplines. Regional and state finals are to be held at Edith Cowan University in September, with the International final to be held in Sydney in November. For more information, please visit the competition website or speak with the Head of Magis. Expressions of interest are due Monday, 12 May (Term 2, Week 13). 

What Matters? Writing Competition

Inspired by Gough Whitlam’s commitment to involving young people in shaping Australia’s future, the What Matters? Writing competition is currently open to school students in Years 5 to 12 from Australia. Responding to the simple question ‘what matters?’, entrants are free to express their views on any matter they care about. Part writing exercise, part civics and citizenship activity, What Matters? Is the perfect opportunity to empower students to raise their voices on issues that are important to them and know that their perspectives are valuable, no matter their age, background or viewpoint. Entries can be fiction, non-fiction, poetry or prose of up to 600 words, and submitted online. Please visit the website Whitlam Institute What Matters for more information, including samples of past winners. Major cash prizes to be won! Entries close Friday, 16 May (Week 13).

Astronomy Club

Calling all stargazers and astronomy lovers! Join our College’s Astronomy Club, where you’ll learn more about the night sky and the history behind constellations, gain confidence with telescopes, and discover tips to make stargazing more enjoyable. It is a great social club where you’ll meet like-minded people of all ages, who share a passion for learning and stargazing. The Astronomy Club meets on the College Oval on various evenings throughout the year – and has a few events booked with the Perth Observatory. For more information, please email the Club Coordinator, Mr Peter Mazur (Mathematics Learning Area), or the Head of Magis. 

Daisy Farley

Head of Magis