Magis Report
Update: WA Debating League
The first finals round 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. From over 300 teams in the preliminary rounds, the DoubleOcto Finals had the top 32 teams competing for a place in next week’s finals. We are very excited to announce that we have three teams progressing to the next round, knocking out some exceptionally talented school teams in the process. Congratulations to:
| Novice JTC 5 | Junior JTC 2 | Junior JTC 3 |
|---|---|---|
Nicholas Burg Sienna D’Alessandro Oliver French Niamh Jennings Ashwell Lee | Henry McGlue Luke Nicol Zachary Sartorello Alessio Torre | Evan du Plessis Lily King Charlie O’Toole James Sommerfield |
The next finals round will be held this Tuesday, 5 August, at Shenton College. Our Novice team will debate at 5:15pm, whilst our Junior teams will debate at 6:15pm. As the debate format is impromptu, teams 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 debating teams and wish them the best of luck with their debates.
Public Speaking Grand Final
We are pleased to announce the winners of the 2025 College Public Speaking Competition. The speeches delivered by all grand finalists were exemplary, and the results were exceptionally close. Indeed, we have dual winners for Year 10 as the judges could not separate first and second place. Special thanks to Magis alumni Thomas Syminton (Class of 2024), Yvette Rigg (Class of 2023), and Aden Gleghorn (Class of 2019) for adjudicating the Grand Final. Trophies will be awarded to students at our Magis Awards Breakfast later this year. A copy of the Grand Final program can be found below.
Our 2025 College Public Speaking Champions are:
| Year | Student | Speech |
|---|---|---|
| Year 7 | Mali Hewett | Smiling |
| Year 8 | Henry Larkin | Lego |
| Year 9 | Zachary Sartorello | Anthropomorphism |
| Year 10 | Joshua Standen | The Philosophy of Time |
| Year 10 | Samuel Watts | The Role of Good Men in Today’s Society |
| Year 11 | Noa Mintz | The Concept of Beauty |
What’s happening next week?
On Tuesday, we have the OctoFinals of WADL SDC. On Wednesday, we have the High Achievers Breakfast in the morning, and after school, the College is hosting the Curtin Youth Advisory Group. We also have meetings for both Tournament of Minds and Ethics Olympiad. A reminder to all non-Magis Elective students that they must submit their expression of interest for the Shakespeare Incursion by Monday, 4 August. This event will take place on Friday of Week 5.
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!
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, 4 August (Term 3, Week 3).
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, 4 August (Term 3, Week 3).
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 Year 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.