If you’re reading this on a Thursday and wondering if Week 8 has finally broken our collective sense of time ... a reasonable assumption, but not quite.

Sports Day is done, the newsletter is out a day early, and tomorrow is a School Closure Day. The timing, I suspect, will be appreciated by just about everyone. A little piece of scheduling magic that felt increasingly sensible with every passing hour...

And let's start right there. As I sit here ... lethargically slumped in my chair following an incredibly busy and action packed Sports Day, I offer a huge congratulations to Penfold, our 2026 Sports Day champions, and to all of our students for what was another brilliant day of spirited competition, shared celebration, and that wonderful sense of togetherness that these events always bring out in our school. There may have been different colours on display, and a strong sense of team, but we were very much one community (... albeit a community where, at various points today, four house points appeared to carry enormous consequeces for the future of civilisation).

I should also acknowledge the enormous number of people who made today happen, because days like Sports Day can look deceptively simple when they run so well. Students arrive, events somehow exist, equipment is where it should be, scores are recorded, people are fed, races start, races finish and eventually somebody gets handed a shield. None of that is magic. It happens because people choose to be incredibly helpful, and pay such close attention to all the details that matter.

It represents weeks of planning, and a huge amount of work from our PE team of Andy Read and James Hancock, all our teachers, SSOs, office staff, volunteers, parent helpers and many others across the school. The fact that most families don't see all of that work is probably the greatest compliment we can give it. Thank you to everyone who contributed, include all those who never seem to say no when another job needs doing, and to our families for coming along, cheering loudly, providing the atmosphere, and helping make the day what it is.

There was one 'magical' element though - an element we have zero control over - and that's the weather. Surely, after what was probably THE most perfect day for a school sports day, the 'Magill Curse' has been put to rest? ... (as much as I hesitate to say that ... don't find this article and quote me in 2027 ...)

I also want to give a special mention to our outstanding Year 6 leaders, who somehow managed to be everywhere on Sports Day; organising their houses, passionately leading chants, ushering students to events, keeping the energy up and the vibes high, and performing a dance they choreographed and rehearsed themselves. They set the tone for the day, and they were brilliant. They were exceptional representatives of our school - bravo to them all on a job (very) well done.

Onto other things...

Measuring what matters...

Over recent weeks, we have been spending a bit of time analysing our 2026 NAPLAN data. NAPLAN gives us plenty of numbers to look at, but the measure we value most at Magill is growth. Where a student starts matters. Where we help them get to matters more. That makes 2026's Year 5 results particularly exciting. Because NAPLAN is completed in both Years 3 and 5, we can look beyond a single result and examine the progress of the same cohort of students over two years. And this group has made exceptional growth across all areas of NAPLAN. That is something worth celebrating.

It represents years of learning, targeted teaching, intervention, challenge, feedback, practice, and thousands of small moments in classrooms that will never appear on a 'results graph'. Most importantly, it represents the work of our students themselves. Results like these don't belong to one teacher, one year level or one program. They are the cumulative result of the people who have taught, supported and challenged these students throughout their time at Magill, and of families who continue that work at home. We are incredibly proud of them.

A quick note about Week 9...

Next week, we will conduct our scheduled lockdown drill on Friday, September 18 at 10:10am. Like all emergency procedures, lockdown drills are something we practise precisely because we hope never to need them. The purpose is not to frighten students, but to make an unfamiliar situation familiar: knowing where to go, what to do and how to respond calmly if it were ever required.

Teachers will prepare students beforehand in an age-appropriate and reassuring way. Families can help by treating it in much the same way - as a normal school safety practice rather than something to worry about. During the drill, the school office will temporarily be unavailable, and students cannot be signed in or out until the drill has concluded. There is no cause for concern; it is a planned simulation only.

Important note! Class Placement Preferences Are Due Tomorrow!

The 2027 class placement preferences are due tomorrow! (Friday the 11th). Please make sure you get those 4 names in as soon as possible. If it's unable to be completed by tomorrow, it absolutely must be done by close of business on Monday the 13th. We very much appreciate your support with this process.

And somehow, there are still two weeks left...

Week 8 may be finished, but Magill isn't exactly limping quietly towards the 2-week break. We still have our choir students attending the Festival of Music, our Year 6 Leaders Day, our Maths Parent Workshop in Week 9 and, of course, our Year 6 Market Day, which is always one of the bigger events on our calendar and another wonderful opportunity to see our students take ownership of their learning and ideas.

Then, eventually, we reach Friday of Week 10, with an early dismissal at 2:05pm.

A School Closure Day, conveniently positioned approximately 18 hours after several hundred children have spent an entire day running, jumping, throwing and yelling house chants. We couldn't have planned it better.

Enjoy the 'long' weekend, everyone. Thank you for another terrific Sports Day and, more broadly, for the continued support you give our school, our staff and, most importantly, our students.

Mike Shortt

Deputy Principal

Sport

Netta 3

Primary 3

Primary 7

Sub-Junior 5

Round 10

Under 11- Magill Gold Round 12