Magis Report 

Course complete!

In true Magis spirit, our elective students continued striving for the Magis even in their final lessons this week. Students were tasked with a series of academic challenges that tested their problem-solving, teamwork and general knowledge. Congratulations to our Year 7 and 8 students who successfully completed their Magis Elective Course. We look forward to welcoming a new cohort of students next year.

At last night’s Presentation Evening, we recognised the outstanding achievements of our students. We congratulate Sienna D’Alessandro (Year 7) and Alessio Torre (Year 8), who were named the Magis Course winners for their respective year groups. We also congratulate Magis students from our graduating Class of 2024 (highlighted below) who received prizes for excellence.

• Maya Mintz (front row, second from the right) was named our 2024 College Dux. This prize is awarded to the highest achieving Year 12 student, with the highest predicted ATAR.
   
• Thomas Syminton (back row, first on the left) was named our 2024 Proxime Accessit. This prize is awarded to the second highest achieving Year 12 student, with the second highest predicted ATAR. Thomas was also this year’s receipt of The Magis Award. This prize recognises a student’s commitment to the College Magis Program, shown by involvement across a number of disciplines over several years, and by acting as a role model and leader to other students.
   
• Gemma Bailey (front row, second from the left) was this year’s recipient of The Benjamin Monaghan Memorial Award. This is presented to a student who displays talent in their creative endeavour.
   
• Xavier Jeffery (back row, second from the right) received The Mother John Prize for Music. This prize recognises a student’s contribution to the Music Program during their time at the College.
   
• Thomas, Maya, Xavier, and Jacob Davila (back row, second from the left), also received Principal Service Awards. These awards recognise outstanding service to the College community and others, while maintaining outstanding academic effort, participation and service to others.

We acknowledge the extraordinary talents and achievements of all our award recipients. May the philosophy of Magis continue to guide students on their academic journey.

MAGIS: OPPORTUNITIES TO DO MORE!

StarGirls STEM Camp

Are you interested in pursuing astronomy, engineering, or data science as a career path? Join high school girls for a free Astronomy Day Camp hosted by the International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research (ICRAR). This camp is open to all high school students in Years 9 to12 whose gender identities are underrepresented in astronomy, engineering, or data science. Highlights include: 

• Meet and talk with women who have made their careers in astrophysics, engineering and data science; 
• Use research-grade telescopes to take and process your own deep space images and take part in a night-time stargazing event; and 
• Visit leading space research centres, including our Curtin and UWA ICRAR campuses, along with a visit to the Pawsey Supercomputer Research Centre. 

The next Stargirls+ camp will be held during the week of 27 January 2025. Stargirls+ is hosted at ICRAR in Perth, Western Australia, at UWA and Curtin locations. This is a day camp, which will require transport to and from the site each day. Food will be provided throughout the event. Places are limited, so early applications are encouraged. What’s it like to do the Stargirls+ STEM Camp? Click on the link here for a video. Further information, including the application form, can be found here. Please note applications will close on Sunday 1 December 2024. Please notify the Head of Magis once you have submitted your application.

Ethics Olympiad Case Writing Competition

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, and it is for that reason that we would recommend the case writing competition to students who have previously participated in an Ethics Olympiad. For more information, please click on the link here or view the flyer below.

Harvard Crimson

The Harvard Crimson Global Essay Competition provides a platform for young, ambitious high school students to exercise their writing skills and compete with students from all over the world. This competition encourages students to challenge themselves and explore different writing styles to ultimately strengthen their writing skills. The competition features two key rounds, the regional qualifiers held throughout five regions, followed by the global finals. To compete in the global round, participants must go head-to-head with local participants and place in the top 15 of the regional qualifiers. The top 12 submissions of the final 75, will be recognised in the global final and will win awesome prizes. As Harvard registration opens 1 October 2024 and closes 31 January 2025, we asked that students (aged 13-18) submit their expression of interest to the Head of Magis by Monday, 9 September 2024. This will be followed by a series of meetings and training seminars in preparation for the competition. Regional qualifiers will be held in February 2025, with Globals held in March 2025. For more information, please click the link below or speak with the Head of Magis. 

Daisy Farley

Head of Learning Areas – HASS & Magis