Parent Connect, News, Events and More

We fit a lot into each term, and Term 3 is certainly no exception. Since our last newsletter, Magill students have added dancing to their ever growing set of skills. Students from Reception to Year 6 have been taking part in Footsteps Dance workshops, so there’s a good chance we’ll be seeing some impressive, or perhaps unexpected new dance moves at our End of Year Concert.

In between dance lessons and perfecting their moves, our Year 5 students have also been busy preparing for their next big responsibility. They recently attended traffic duty training with SAPOL officers, learning how to carry out the job safely and responsibly. This means that next term, you’ll see some new faces at the Magill and Penfold Road crossings before and after school, as our Year 5s step up to replace the Year 6s on traffic duty. We’re sure they’ll do a fantastic job.

Magill School has a strong Instrumental Music program, and Term 3 is a special one for students in the band. If you attended the most recent primary assembly, you would have had the pleasure of hearing our wonderful band performing in preparation for the ABODA festival. This week, 38 students travelled to Westminster School for the ABODA event. Dressed in their performance uniforms with instruments in hand, they took to the stage alongside bands from across South Australia. Our band always performs at a high standard, and this year was no exception, with the Magill band receiving a Bronze award for their performance. Congratulations to all 38 students for their commitment and hard work, and to their dedicated band conductor, Nick Vladcoff for his ongoing support and guidance. We are very proud of their achievement!

This term, we welcomed more than 50 new Reception students to Magill School. Along with our newest students, we also welcomed many new parents and caregivers into the Magill community. We know that starting at a new school can be a big step for families, so we wanted to make sure our new parents and caregivers felt welcomed, connected and supported as they settled into school life. With funding from a grant, the Parent Engagement Committee organised our very first Parent Connect Event to help make this happen. Held last Tuesday at the Junior Primary Playground, the event brought together our newest families with existing Magill parents and caregivers. It was an opportunity for new families to meet other parents, ask questions and find out more about the practical side of school life. Conversations covered everything from school routines and finding the school calendar to library borrowing times and other helpful tips about being part of the Magill community. Around 80 parents and caregivers attended, creating a warm and welcoming atmosphere. The Committee also organised a coffee cart and snacks for parents and children, followed by a raffle. Some very lucky families went home with a Magill School Cookbook or beanie! Keep an eye on your emails for information about our next Parent Connect Event. Thank you to the Parent Engagement Committee members Laura Short, Jenny Hunt and Kavita Kuczynski for their time and effort in organising and running the event. We also thank Dariusz Kuczynski, our official Parent Connect photographer, for capturing the day. Please enjoy some of the photos from the event below.

Maths Olympiad

As we pass the mid-point of the school year, it has been great to see our Year 3-6 Maths Olympiad students continuing to improve their problem-solving skills. Our latest competition results marked an exciting milestone, with all three of our Olympiad teams achieving a team score above the national average across all 15 questions. This result reflects the hard work students have put into learning problem-solving strategies and practising a range of challenging questions. A big congratulations to all our Maths Olympiad students.

Here is an example of one of the questions that has long been a challenge for our teams. The ‘dreaded’ cryptarithm. Here is an example of a cryptarithm from the most recent competition:

Before looking at the solution, have a go at solving it yourself. The rules for a cryptarithm are that each letter must be assigned its own digit between 0 and 9. If a letter appears multiple times, it must consistently represent the same digit throughout. No two letters can share the same digit. For example, if the letter ‘A’ is assigned to the digit 5, no other letter can also represent 5. And every letter ‘A’ must also be 5.

One of the strategies we use to solve cryptarithms is ‘Eliminate All But One Possibility’. This means you need to keep track of each number you try, and not only work out which number goes with each letter, you also need to ‘eliminate’ which numbers can’t be assigned to a given letter.

A hint for the attached cryptarithm: Because it asks for the ‘greatest possible value’, start by trying out the highest digits in the hundreds position.

Once you have had a go at the question, click here to see the solution.

How did you go?

Addition cryptarithms are a great entry point. As students develop their confidence, they also tackle subtraction, multiplication and even division cryptarithms.

School Closure: Friday, 11th September

A quick reminder that school closure if coming up in September – the day after Sports Day. A time to visit the Adelaide Show, take a well-earned rest after Sports Day, or, and this is just a suggestion, brush up on your cryptarithm skills.

Sonia Magon

Assistant Principal