Magis report

What a week it has been for our Magis program! Our first Academic House Challenge for the year took place. Each Homeroom nominates up to 10 students who take part in a quiz testing student’s knowledge across a number of disciplines. Students receive valuable House points for participating, and points for place positions. These points go towards awarding not only the Magis Academic Cup for the highest achieving House, but also the overall College House Shield. Our first challenge for the year tested students' spelling skills. Other challenges this year include STEM, Humanities, Languages, Literature, Art, Music, and Theology. Student representatives from Years 9 to 12 took part this week, and it was great to see students getting into House spirit. Congratulations to the following Year group winners:

Year 9: Jonah Liew (Loyola) – defending spelling champion for his year group
Year 10: Joseph Scott (Campion) – defending spelling champion for his year group
Year 11: Joshua Mengler (St Louis)
Year 12: Emily Lawrence (St Louis)

This Tuesday, our Years 7 and 8 student representatives will take the stage. So, open those dictionaries and start studying!

WA Debating League Update

Round 1 of 2024 WA Debating League (WADL) Schools Debating Competition (SDC) began on Tuesday night at Christ Church Grammar School – and the atmosphere was electric! There was great energy and a wonderful sense of camaraderie among the students from all schools. Our teams debated contemporary topics centred on the theme of education:

This house would implement the four-day school week model;
This house would ban exclusionary disciplinary strategies; and
This house would not provide early childhood education services notice of A+R.

For some of our debating students, it was their first time competing. Year 7 student, Sienna D’Alessandro said:

'I found debating such a fun and rewarding experience. Our topic was really interesting, and I learnt how to present an argument, and prepare rebuttals - winning our debate was a bonus!'

A lot of wins and some very narrow losses - what an outstanding start to the 2024 season! Special thanks to Ms Lumley for her assistance on the night. Our debating students are now busy preparing for Round 2 which will be held on Tuesday, 30 April (Term 2, Week 12) and will centre on the theme of Australian politics.

WA Law Society Mock Trial Competition

Round 1 of the 2024 Law Society of Western Australia Mock Trial Competition commenced last night at the WA Supreme Court. Our team went up against Shenton College, appearing for the Prosecution in a criminal matter. Specifically, the Accused was charged with assault occasioning bodily harm arising out of an incident at Greendale. There is a lot of preparation involved in the lead-up to the trial, and I would like to take this opportunity to thank the students who, despite their busy schedules, enthusiastically attended lunchtime meetings. 

Our Round 1 Team included: 

Junior Barrister: Jacob Davila
Senior Barrister: Meg Derbyshire
Instructing Solicitor: Sky Pineda Beasley
Witness 1 (“The Victim”): Thomas Syminton
Witness 2: Meg Cleary
Court Orderly: Felix Frichot

A snapshot into our elective course

Our Year 8 elective students completed their first assessment task this week, taking part in three debates, using past National Debating finals questions. Debating is a key component of the Magis Elective Course, in both Years 7 and 8. It is an essential life skill that helps our students develop confidence, learn to think on their feet, and argue their point of view. We commend our Year 8 students on a job well done.

Meanwhile, our Year 7 elective students have been introduced to the wonderful world of philosophy. They have been examining the life and works of Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle, as well as how to construct deductive, inductive, and abductive (Sherlock Holmes style) reasoning. It has been pleasing to hear the rich and meaningful conversations that students have been holding both in and outside of the classroom. It was particularly rewarding to see how excited students were to pose alongside the bust of Socrates, which they spotted at UWA a few weeks ago. Philosophy helps our students learn how to reason and think well, how to hold respectful and rational conversations with their peers, as well as how to delve deeper into the theory of knowledge (epistemology). Our Year 7 students have their first assessment task, a Philosophy test, scheduled for this Wednesday, and we wish them all the best.

MAGIS: OPPORTUNITIES TO DO MORE!

World Scholars Cup

Expressions of interest are now open for the annual World Scholar’s Cup. This is a BIG commitment, so we have asked students to take the time to carefully consider whether this competition is best for them. The World Scholar's Cup is a global academic competition that challenges students to explore diverse topics and skills. More than 15,000 students from over 65 countries participate every year. Students compete in teams of three at a Regional Round (31 May - 1 June), with the top performing teams qualifying for a Global Round (for example: Bangkok Global Round 29 August – 5 September 5). The top-performing teams at Globals will then qualify for the Tournament of Champions, which is held at Yale University in the US (9-22 November). Please check out the WSC website for information concerning the different events teams compete in, as well as a copy of the 2024 curriculum, which students will need to learn on top of their schoolwork and other co-curricular/family commitments. Expressions of interest are to be emailed to the Head of Magis by Monday 25 March (Week 9).

College Chess Tournament

Entries are now open for our annual College Chess Tournament. If you think you have what it takes to be our next College ‘Grandmaster’, or you simply want to have fun, then email your name, Year and House to the Head of Magis. All participants will win their House valuable points – with trophies to be awarded to our finalists. Entries close Wednesday, 17 April, with the Tournament to take place at the beginning of Term 2.

Ethics Olympiad Case Writing Awards

Ethics Olympiad are holding a case writing competition with prize money to be won. Submissions should follow the general format for Ethics Olympiad cases: a scenario, between 400 and 800 words long, which highlights a clear moral issue and is appropriate for middle or high-school students and is written in a way that encourages civil discourse. The scenario should be framed so the central issue is clearly moral and not simply or primarily legal or professional. Knowledge of the structure of the Ethics Olympiad competition is important. If you haven’t taken part previously, I would encourage you to either speak to a student who has competed or contact the Head of Magis for more information (copies of past cases can be provided). Entries must be submitted by email to the Head of Magis by Friday, 19 April (Week 10).

UN Youth - WA State Conference

UN Youth WA State Conference is a three-day event for passionate young people to gather from across Western Australia. The theme for this year’s conference is ‘The Future of Your Democracy’. Students will discuss some of the most important issues facing our global community and develop a greater understanding of the role they can play in shaping our global future. Open to students in Years 9 to 12, the conference will be held at Seaside Camp on Friday 19 April to Sunday 21 April (Week 10). The cost of the conference is $260 per person (all-inclusive of food and accommodation). If a weekend of leadership, diplomacy, and advocacy sounds good to you, then join other like-minded youths at the 2024 State Conference. For further information please click on the link: WA State Conference | UN Youth Australia or speak with the Head of Magis.

Plain English Speaking Award

The Plain English Speaking Award is a public speaking competition open to senior secondary school students (Years 11 and 12). It was created to encourage the best use of the English language in Australian schools. Taking part has been recognised by thousands of young people as a valuable experience and, for the participants and winners, a worthy mention in their resume. We will be selecting two students to represent our College in the State Semi-Final next term. If selected, students will need to prepare an eight-minute speech on a topic of their choice. At the competition, students will also deliver a three-minute impromptu speech. The topic to be given by the adjudicator on the day. The winner of the state final will represent the state and their school at the national final in Sydney, with the winner of the national final to represent Australia in an international competition conducted by the English-Speaking Union in London. Expressions of interest are to be emailed to the Head of Magis before Monday 22 April (Week 11).

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 click here for more information, or speak with the Head of Magis.

Entries close Friday 17 May (Week 14).

Term 1 Calendar

You can keep up to date with Magis events by following the Term 1 calendar, which can be accessed by clicking on the link below.

2024 Magis Calendar Term 1

Daisy Farley

Head of Magis - Gifted & Talented Program