Magis Report 

Update: WA Debating League

The Octo-Finals of the WA Debating League (WADL) Schools Debating Competition (SDC) took place on Tuesday evening at Shenton College. Many thanks to the family and friends who came in support. The debates were naturally of a high quality. From over 300 teams, these were the top 16 in the State. We are very excited to announce that we have a team progressing to the next round (top 8). Congratulations to:

• Novice JTC 5
  • Nicholas Burg
  • Sienna D’Alessandro
  • Oliver French
  • Niamh Jennings
  • Ashwell Lee

The Quarter-Finals will be held this Tuesday, 12 August, at Perth Modern School. Our Novice team will debate at 5:15pm. As the debate format is impromptu, our debaters will be required to arrive at the venue an hour and 15 minutes before their scheduled debate time. A copy of the finals draw can be found below. We congratulate our champion debaters and wish them the best of luck with their debate.

Magis Elective Course

Our Semester 2, Years 7 and 8 Magis Elective students are busy brainstorming topics for their Personal Projects. One of the major components of our Gifted and Talented Elective Course is the Personal Project. This program is based on the International Baccalaureate but modified to suit younger students and the timeframe within which the College Elective program is run. Students are challenged to choose a topic that interests them, and they work on this over the course of the Semester. We recommend students choose a topic that will extend them, for example, an inquiry that they won’t study until Years 9 to 12, or tertiary level. For our Year 8s, they will also build a physical product to accompany their project. Parents are encouraged to discuss these projects with their children. Personal Projects will be displayed in an Exhibition for staff, parents, and students to view at the end of the Semester (Thursday, 27 November), with special awards to be presented at the Magis Awards Breakfast for the most outstanding projects. We look forward to seeing what our Semester 2 cohort will come up with!

The More!

A key aspect of our GATE program is providing opportunities for our students to learn 'more' – whether that be going beyond their core subject areas or extending beyond their year level. It is important for our GATE students to be exposed to a wide range of genres, styles, and topics. As such, there are upcoming opportunities that we would recommend to our students. A speciality talk, on politics and law, will be delivered by our Academic in Residence Fr Frank Brennan this Thursday, 14 August. The Magis Program will also be hosting The Players, from the Bell Shakespeare Company, on Friday, 22 August, for a wonderful afternoon of Shakespeare immersion. There are also numerous activities and free talks that are being held in conjunction with National Science Week (9-17 August). Further details can be found in the ‘Magis: Opportunities to do more!’ section. 

What’s happening next week?

On Tuesday, we have the Quarter-Finals of WADL SDC, and on Thursday, there is a Specialty Talk. We also have meetings for both Tournament of Minds and Ethics Olympiad. In celebration of National Science Week, our next Academic Challenge will test students’ knowledge of all things STEM. Our Years 9 and 10 students will take part in the STEM Challenge on Tuesday, with our other year groups taking part the following week.

You can keep up to date with our schedule of competitions and events by viewing the Magis calendar, which can be accessed by clicking on the link below.  

Daisy Farley

Head of Magis – Gifted and Talented

Magis: Opportunities to do more!

Specialty Talk

This month, we welcome Fr Frank Brennan SJ, as our Academic in Residence. A Jesuit priest, lawyer, and advocate for human rights, Fr Brennan brings to life our College motto, Seek Justice. He will be holding a specialty talk on Thursday, 14 August (3:30pm to 5:00pm) in the Gonzaga Barry Lecture Theatre (GBLT). This talk will be tailored to address topics covered in the Year 12 Politics & Law ATAR curriculum – though all are welcome to attend. Students are asked to complete the RSVP e-form on Magis Teams, for catering purposes.

Shakespeare Incursion

The Magis Program will be hosting The Players, from the Bell Shakespeare Company, for a wonderful afternoon of Shakespeare immersion. Learning about Shakespeare gives students a glimpse into another world, and it helps improve their logical thinking processes, emotional intelligence, and cultural awareness. For some of our students, this will provide an opportunity to get ahead in the English curriculum, as Shakespeare is taught in Year 9. Our Shakespeare Incursion will be held on Friday, 22 August 2025. Students will attend their normal classes from Homeroom through to the end of lunch. Students will then meet at the end of lunch in the Thomas More Exhibition Centre (TMEC) and take part in a short activity. This will be followed by a performance of ‘Macbeth: The Rehearsal’ and then a Q&A session with the actors. This part of the program will be held in the Gonzaga Barry Lecture Theatre (GBLT). The incursion will be held during Periods 5 and 6 only and will finish by 3:10pm. The incursion is compulsory for all Semester 1 and 2 Magis Elective students, and optional for our Years 9 to 12 students (these students must complete the RSVP e-form on Magis Teams).

National Science Week

National Science Week runs from 9 to 17 August. Our Science Department will be running some great activities during this time, and Magis will be running the STEM challenge in Weeks 4 and 5. We would also thoroughly recommend checking out some of the amazing (and free) public events that are taking place. If you are a fan of Science, be sure to get involved in this Science Week! 

Event recommendations:

• Forrest Research Foundation National Science Week Showcase
• Girls Programming Network Perth
• 2025 Marie Curie Lectures: Quantum century – Unlocking the universe’s secrets and shaping our future with Dr Danielle Holmes
• Public Talk: The University of Western Australia

British Parliamentary Debating

British Parliamentary Debating is an excellent opportunity for students to develop their public speaking skills and learn a new style of debating. It is a niche and intensive competition that encourages teamwork and thinking outside of the box. The skills gained in this competition can transfer across all subjects and other co-curricular activities. Students will receive a crash course on the day of the competition and will be assisted in preparing for their first debate. With that said, we strongly encourage students to read through the BP Handbook and view the WADL/BP YouTube Channel before submitting an expression of interest. Students can find further competition details on Magis Teams. Expressions of interest close Monday, 11 August (Term 3, Week 4).

International Debating Championships

The International Debating Championships offer high-quality debating instruction and tournaments for Australian and international schools, continuing to develop students’ public speaking skills, analytical abilities, and general knowledge. The tournament will be held entirely online via Zoom on Friday nights during Term 4 of the NSW school term. It is open to students in Years 7-10 across Australia, New Zealand and Asia and will be conducting two divisions; Junior (Years 7-8), and Senior (Years 9-10). The tournament will be adjudicated by qualified and experienced university debating adjudicators. We will be holding debate development training seminars in Term 3, leading up to the Term 4 competition. Expressions of interest are to be emailed to the Head of Magis by Monday, 11 August (Term 3, Week 4).

The Craig Silvey Award for Young Writers

The City of Subiaco proudly presents the 2025 Craig Silvey Award for Young Writers. This award recognises and celebrates the talent and potential of WA's young writers from Years 1 to 12. Stories submitted must be an original piece of prose writing, no more than 2000 words in length. Entries close Monday, 11 August at 5:30pm. Please note: There are winter writing workshops scheduled for the school holidays. Visit the city's events page for more information. 

Astronomy Club

Calling all stargazers and astronomy lovers! Join our College’s Astronomy Club, where you’ll learn more about the night sky and the history behind constellations, gain confidence with telescopes, and discover tips to make stargazing more enjoyable. It is a great social club where you’ll meet like-minded people of all ages, who share a passion for learning and stargazing. The Astronomy Club meets on the College Oval on various evenings throughout the year – and has a few events booked with the Perth Observatory. For more information, please email the Club Coordinator, Mr Peter Mazur (Mathematics Learning Area), or the Head of Magis.