Success Stories
Dante Alighieri Italian Poetry Competition
Our Year 9 - 12 Italian students participated in the Dante Alighieri Poetry Competition held at Melbourne University. This competition involved 63 secondary schools and over 3330 participants from around the state.
After the initial round, 5 of our 38 students were asked to return to participate in the finalist round which was held on the 20 July. Congratulations to the following finalists:
- Kelly Chan Year 12 - Non-Italian Section
- Brianna Mercuri Year 10 - Italian Australian Section
- Martina Minutoli Year 10 - Italian Australian Section
- Penny Parker Year 10 - Non-Italian Section
- Elana Kralevska Year 9 - Italian Australian Section
We are very proud to announce that this year the recipient of 1st Place in the Year 12 Non-Italian Section of the Dante Alighieri Poetry Competition is Kelly Chan.
We would also like to congratulate the following students for receiving Certificates of ‘Pregio’ (Certificates of High Distinction) and Certificates of ‘Lode’ (Certificate of Honours) for their recitations.
Champions in Public Speaking
I had the wonderful opportunity to represent MSJ and participate in the Wynspeak Public Speaking Competition. Emmy Lam Ho Yuen (Yr 7), Anika Singh (Yr 10) and Hawi Ali (Yr 11) and I competed in the first round against students from several other schools. We presented a five minute speech on a topic of our own choice, as well as, a two minute speech on a topic given to us on the night. We were all very nervous, but we did very well and really enjoyed the evening.
Fortunately for me, I won the best junior speaker with my speech, "The advantages of learning music at school". This automatically allowed me to compete in the finals. The finals were even more challenging, but it was still a great opportunity to meet students from other schools and it built my confidence and enthusiasm in public speaking. At the finals, I spoke on “The advantages and disadvantages of being the older sibling” and I went home with the Encouragement Award. This was a really rewarding experience and I am glad that I was lucky enough to participate in the competition and represent MSJ.
By Tanvi Arora (Year 9)
Australian Brain Bee Challenge - State finals
In March, 12 Year 10 students participated in the Australian Brain Bee Challenge. This is a neuroscience competition in which students learn about the science of the brain, and compete in an Australia-wide online quiz. The students worked together to summarise a textbook on topics such as the nervous system, learning, memory, stress, sleep, the psychological processes of vision and pain, and the future of artificial brains and brain imaging.
Based on their results in the online quiz, 7 of our students made it to the state finals. These students were Maya Gauci, Daniela Papa, Amelia Papa, Caitlin Soto, Teagan McHarg, Olivia Caldwell and Riona Elsous. The state finals were held in July at the Melbourne Brain Centre, which is part of the University of Melbourne.
To prepare for this competition, our students had to learn a different neuroscience textbook over their holidays. The students competed in both the individual and team events, and displayed a wide range of sophisticated neuroscience knowledge.
As well as participating in the challenge events, the students visited the DAX Centre Gallery and listened to a variety of guest speakers including Ms Ellen Sandell MP, Dr Holly Chinnery and Dr David Gonsalvez, who told their personal journeys in the fields of science. The students were also given a tour of the laboratories of the University where a PHD student showed us a typical day as a research scientist. We saw neuroscientists creating neurons from stem cells, slicing tiny brains to look at under their microscopes, and analysing their findings.
Overall, the Australian Brain Bee Challenge was a fantastic experience for the students and we are very proud of their hard work and preparation for the event.
Natasha Jolly
Teacher
Berthe Mouchette French Poetry Competition
In May, our Year 8, 9 and 10 French students participated in the annual Berthe Mouchette French Poetry Competition run by the Alliance Française de Melbourne. The competition attracts the participation of around 13,000 students across Victoria from Years 3 to 12 and our students have represented MSJ proudly yet again. Our Year 8 finalists were Jasmine Maharaj and Monique Milenkovski. Our Year 9 finalists were Marizabel Saliba and Tessa El-Haouli. The finals were held in July and we eagerly await the results.
Congratulations also to the following students who were awarded with Certificates of Excellence and Honours:
Year 8
Excellence
Tanvi Arora
Alex Brotto
Nina Unsworth
Honours
Isabella Cassar
Jessica Dunn
Luna Forero Guzman
Sarvleen Kaur
Chantelle Lakkis
Alessandra Le
Alexandra Muir
Jasmin Neary
Alexandra Phanurak
Emily Santillo
Zoha Talpur
Mikaela Tedesco
Courtney Von Wald
Year 9
Excellence
Amelia Moore
Honours
Ava Boribon
Adelle Horvath
Ella Isacsson
Alyssa Kwet-On
Hayley Waldron
Year 10
Honours
Chantelle Falzon