Magis report 

Round two of Interschool Debating continued via the Zoom platform on Tuesday. Whilst there were many Covid-related postponements,  John XXIII won three of our five debates and all teams performed at a high level. Congratulations to all debaters, and special thanks to our wonderful coaches, Charlie Richards, Rory Hewson and Ben Linsten for their terrific work with the teams, and to Ms Lumley, Mr Connellan and Sr Tess for their vital work as team managers. The Novice 2 team will debate this coming Tuesday at 5.30pm, as there were problems with the zoom connection with WA Debating League for both schools.  All other teams move to debates next term in week two, Tuesday 3 May, with seniors and junior now moving to impromptu which means preparation time starts one hour before the debate. Novice debates remain prepared, and the next  set of topics has been sent to students. All teams are reminded that they must check the WA Debating League website for up to date fixtures in the week prior to each debate as particularly in this COVID era, there have been many changes from the original set of fixtures.

The opportunity to nominate for the John XXIII Public Speaking Championship has been extended to the end of term, because of time and COVID-related factors. Contestants are required to speak for three minutes on any topic.  Heats will now be in weeks one and two next term, and the grand final remains on Tuesday 10 May. There are excellent trophies, medals and certificates for all grand finalists, and the event counts for academic House points.  As usual a video of grand final highlights will be produced. Any grand final COVID-related spectator regulations will be circulated early in term two. 

Shakespeare Club members will have their next meeting on Wednesday, and a holiday task for each student is to get family members and friends to take part in the research survey on Shakespeare’s greatest sonnets. This simply means ranking a selection of his greatest sonnets, and the exercise should take no more than 5-8 minutes.  Please support this venture!

The Drone Club, Dungeons and Dragons and Sleek Geeks are all up and running, and warmest thanks to Mr Connellan and Dr Casadio for the great opportunities they are providing.  Last year Famelab was a great addition to the Magis program, and nominations will be taken from Year 9 students early in term 2 for this fantastic Science Challenge which will again be run as a College Competition with the winner going into the WA final at the Heath Ledger Theatre.

Jim Miller

Magis Gifted and Talented Program Coordinator