Magis report 

The heats for our College Public Speaking Competition continued this week, with students from Years 7-10 impressing the judges with some exceptional speeches. Topics have been wide-ranging from nuclear fusion to Greek mythology. Special mention must be made to our youngest participants, our Year 7 students, who delivered highly intelligent and persuasive speeches with no reliance on palm cards whatsoever! The audience was absolutely spellbound. It was heart-warming to see the comradery displayed between competitors and the support shown by their classmates, who had come to watch. Special thanks to our amazing panel of judges: Ms Gray and Mr Webber from the English Department and Mrs Gregory-Turner, Head of Learning Area - Religious Education. Our final heats will be held on Monday, with the list of grand finalists to be announced in next week’s College Newsletter. The top three students from each year level will progress to the grand final, which will be held on 8 June (Week 17) in the Gonzaga Barry Lecture Theatre. Invitations will be sent out, following the conclusion of our College heats.

Round 3 of our College Chess Tournament was also held this week, and we congratulate all students who are progressing to the next stage of the Tournament. It’s getting very exciting, with finals fast approaching. A reminder that fixtures are emailed to chess players and can be found on the Magis Noticeboard and in SEQTA notices. Special thanks to Mr Connellan and Ms De Pinto for their ongoing support and assistance.

Our World Scholars Team has been busy working in the lead-up to next week’s competition, to be held at Aquinas College on Friday and Sacred Heart College on Saturday. Click the attachment below to view the two-day schedule of events. It should be a terrific program and we wish all our scholars the best of luck at the competition.

MAGIS: OPPORTUNITIES TO DO MORE!

FameLab Academy

FameLab is the largest, public-facing science communication competition and training program in the world, hosted in over 35 countries. FameLab Academy is run in Western Australia and is the schools’ version for Years 8 and Years 9 students. This competition was created to develop young people as science communicators by increasing their scientific knowledge and building their confidence and communication skills. There are great prizes! The winner will receive a cash prize of $1,500, and two runners-up will each receive $1,000. For more information, please see the Magis Coordinator. Expressions of interest are due by Friday 2 June.

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 Magis Coordinator. Expressions of interest are due by Monday 5 June.

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 will be held at Edith Cowan University in September (Term 3) with the international final to be held in Melbourne in October. For more information, please see the Magis Coordinator. Expressions of interest are due by Monday 5 June.

Middle School Ethics Olympiad

An Ethics Olympiad is a competitive yet collaborative event in which students, in teams, analyse and discuss real-life, and timely, ethical issues. It differs from a debate in that students are not assigned opposing views; rather, they defend whatever position they believe is right and win by showing that they have thought more carefully, deeply, and perceptively about the cases in question. The event encourages and promotes ethical awareness, critical thinking skills, civil discourse, international engagement (with schools competing from around the world), and an appreciation for diverse points of view. Middle School Ethics Olympiad is open to students in Years 7 to 9. For more information, please see the Magis Coordinator. Expressions of interest are due by Friday 9 June.

TEDx Kings Park Youth Competition

Win you own TEDx talk! If you’re a West Australian aged 14-21 with an idea for change, TEDx Kings Park, in partnership with Curtin University, can help. Your idea could be small and handy, or big and world-changing, for people, for the environment, maybe for the world. If you’re one of the five finalists, you’ll share your idea on the main stage of the State Theatre Centre of WA at the TEDx Kings Park Youth Event (see below). Entry is easy: Simply upload a 30-second video of you sharing your idea by 30 June. Five finalists will receive professional curation and coaching in public speaking. For more information click here, or speak with the Magis Coordinator.

Invitation to TEDx Kings Park Youth Event

Australia’s largest TEDx event for young people is back, at the State Theatre Centre of WA on Saturday 29 July. In one action-packed afternoon, students aged 14-21 will experience nine world premiere TEDx talks, performances and short films from WA’s young creative community and, in the breaks, interactive installations and complimentary food and refreshments. This is a powerful event for young people: to be stimulated by fresh ideas, and original approaches, and connect with the global TEDx community. If you would like to attend as part of our College delegation, please email your expression of interest to the Magis Coordinator by 30 June.

Term 2 calendar

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

Daisy Farley

Magis Coordinator – Gifted and Talented