Magis report 

John XXIII College’s Da Vinci Decathlon teams represented the College extremely well in the Year 7, 8, 9 and 10 sections of this prestigious event held in Winthrop Hall at the University of Western Australia earlier this week. Competing against 25 top schools John XXIII won the Year 9 Creative Producers section, and finished third in Year 9 Engineering and Years 7 and 8 English. Congratulations to all 32 students who represented the College so well, and particularly thanks to the following dedicated experts who assisted with preparation in the ten challenging sections of the competition: Ms Joan Davies, Ms Morgan Ball, Ms Ylenia Casadio, Ms Margaret Yoon, Ms Eva-Maria Catania, Ms Jo Anne Friel, Mr Nathan Munns and Mr Gerry Cotter. A full report will be published once all results arrive, as only the top three in each section are announced on the day. Several photos of student teams are attached with this report.

The final interviews in the Year 7  Intergenerational Research program concluded this week, and students have been finalising biographies of the residents for publication in a special hard cover book to be distributed next term.  Special thanks to Ms Janeen Murphy and Ms Mary-Anne Lumley for  their assistance with the program, and especially to Mr Sam Tout who set up the audio-visuals for the remote interviews so professionally throughout the program. The Year 7.1 and 7.2 classes will be presenting their exciting personal projects in Week 9 of Term 2 at a special breakfast.

The John XXIII Public Speaking competition will be held at the start of next term, with Years 7, 8, 9 and 10 in Week 1 and Years 11 and 12 in Week 2.  Teachers and senior Magis committee members will be running the heats, and the grand final will be held on the evening of Tuesday 4 May in Week 3.  The Public speaking flyer with competition details is attached with this report, and there are still a few places to fill so late entries will be accepted by email up to the end of the holidays.

At the end of Term 1 St Louis (267 points) leads the House Academic Challenge series ahead of Koolyangarra (243) and Loreto (249), with Ward, Loyola and Campion close behind, and all houses achieving success at several year levels.  We look forward to the Arts/HASS and STEM Challenges next term. Warmest thanks to the many teachers and students who have contributed to the success of the Magis program this term. 

Jim Miller

Magis Gifted and Talented Program Coordinator