Magis report 

It is always wonderful to witness senior school students demonstrate our College values through their leadership and mentoring of our lower school students. Year 7 Magis classes will take part in an abridged version of Ethics Olympiad, which will test their ability to academically discuss complex and sensitive ethical issues. Year 12 students Meg Cleary, Meg Derbyshire, Sky Pineda Beasley and Asha Paton visited our Year 7 Magis elective classes this week to offer advice and encouragement to our students. Meg, Meg, Sky and Asha are part of our hugely successful Senior Ethics Team, who came second in the Australasian division and third in the International Ethics Olympiad Final in previous years. The Year 7 students were excited to view the Senior Ethics Team’s silver and bronze medals.  

It has been a busy week of meetings and preparation sessions for our Magis students. We have a number of competitions taking place over the next couple of weeks, including the WA Debating League Schools Debating Competition, Mock Trials, World Scholars Regionals, Senior Ethics Olympiad, and the Plain English Speaking Competition State Semi-Final. Students who will be participating in our College Chess Tournament, have received their fixtures, and our first games will commence next week. We will also be finalising the fixtures of our College Public Speaking Competition next week, so students are reminded to get their entries in before the end of the day on Monday.

WA Debating League Update

Round 2 will be held on Tuesday 30 April (Week 12) at Christ Church Grammar School (CCGS) - with debates commencing at 5:15pm, 6:15pm or 7:15pm. Below is a copy of our team fixtures, which students can access through Teams. Please note that some changes may be made in the course of the season due to postponements, forfeits etc. Parents can also find a copy of the full SDC draw on the WADL website. A reminder that Rounds 3, 4 and 5 will be impromptu debates, which means that teams will be required to arrive at the venue an hour before their scheduled debate time. We wish all our debating teams the best of luck with their Round 2 debates.

MAGIS: OPPORTUNITIES TO DO MORE!

College Public Speaking Competition

Entries are now open for our annual College Public Speaking Competition. This is a prestigious event in our College Calendar, with the grand final attended by students, parents, staff and alumni. Pictured below are our 2023 Public Speaking Champions (Year 12 College Captain and Magis Captain tied for first place). Students can speak for up to 3 minutes on a topic of their choice. Heats will be held in Weeks 13 and 14, with the top 3 students from each year group progressing to the Grand Final. Trophies and medals will be awarded to the top public speaker and runner up public speaker in each year group. These prizes will be awarded at our Magis Awards Breakfast in Term 4. Please see the flyer for further information. Entries are due Monday 29 May (Week 12).

What Matters? Writing Competition

Inspired by Gough Whitlam’s commitment to involving young people in shaping Australia’s future, the What Matters? Writing Competition is currently open to school students in Years 5 to 12 from Australia. Responding to the simple question ‘what matters?’, entrants are free to express their views on any matter they care about. Part writing exercise, part civics and citizenship activity, What Matters? Is the perfect opportunity to empower students to raise their voices on issues that are important to them and know that their perspectives are valuable, no matter their age, background, or viewpoint. Entries can be fiction, non-fiction, poetry or prose of up to 600 words, and submitted online. Please click here for more information or speak with the Head of Magis. Entries close Friday, 17 May (Week 14).

Creative Edge Thinking  

The Creative Edge Problem Solving Challenge is an innovative educational competition providing students with motivating challenges that will develop both critical and creative thinking skills. Students compete in teams to solve an open-ended challenge in one of the following disciplines: Literature and Communication or Society and Environment (HASS). This year’s regional final will be held at Curtin University. For more information, please see the Head of Magis. Expressions of interest are due by Friday, 23 August (Week 16). 

Tournament of Minds 

Tournament of Minds (TOM) is an international problem-solving program for teams of students. TOM’s aim is to enhance the potential of our youth by developing diverse skills, enterprise, time management, and the discipline to work collaboratively within a challenging and competitive environment. Teams will be required to solve demanding, open-ended challenges in the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) discipline. Regional and State Finals are to be held at Edith Cowan University in September, with the International Final to be held in Sydney in November. For more information, please see the Head of Magis. Expressions of interest are due by Friday 23 August (Week 16). 

Term 2 Calendar

You can keep up to date with Magis events by following the Term 2 calendar, which can be accessed by clicking on the link below. 

Daisy Farley

Head of Magis - Gifted & Talented Program