Magis report 

John XXIII College performed well on the opening night of interschool debating with four wins in the six debates we competed in at Christchurch. Congratulations to all debaters, and warmest thanks to the wonderful group of parents who supported the teams. Special thanks also to the coaches and managers, Ms Dawson, Ms Lumley, Ms Glass and alumni Rory Hewson, Ben Linsten,  Alex Panther and Charlie Richards for their great support for the teams. There are four more debates in the qualifying rounds, the next being on Tuesday 27 April. The students have received the WADL handbook and the John XXIII College version will be distributed in week one next term.

Teams from Years 7, 8, 9 and 10 will compete in the Da Vinci Decathlon at the University of Western Australia next week. Years 9 and 10 compete on Monday and Years 7 and 8 on Tuesday. The buses leave at 8:00am sharp so all team members must be at the bus by 7:55am.  A final instructions sheet has been given to participating students and is attached with this newsletter report.  Good luck to all teams.

The Magis House Mental Mathematics Championship was completed last week and saw an amazing record of 324 students competing from all year groups. St Louis House had an outstanding overall victory from Koolyangarra, Ward and Loreto, with Campion and Loyola also very strong in some age-groups. Despite this being a relatively difficult challenge, there was at least one perfect score in each year level. Warmest thanks to all House  Coordinators, Homeroom teachers and the 324 enthusiastic competitors.  The results flyer which also shows all top performers is attached.

Entries are now being taken for the John XXIII Public Speaking competition open to students from all year groups, up to a maximum of three students per Homeroom. Heats take place at lunchtime in weeks one and two next term and the grand final, which will feature the top three placegetters from each year group will be held in the GBLT at 6:30pm on Tuesday 4 May.

Finally, next Monday sees the final interviews in the Intergenerational program run with MercyCare and Griffiths University. Students are now working hard  on finishing the biographies of each resident. These will be published in a hard cover book next term.

Jim Miller

Magis Gifted and Talented Program Coordinator