The end of Term Two is fast approaching. Before we arrive at the mid-year break, students have much in the way of assessment to complete.

Striving for the Magis

At assembly last week, I spoke to the students about striving for the magis. We use the word magis often in our community to mean “more” or “greater.” There is, however, a much deeper meaning and that is the idea of human excellence. We want our students to strive to do their best in all aspects of school life so that they meet their potential. I challenge students to avoid settling for mediocrity. Near enough is not good enough. They owe it to themselves to try their hardest, to find their gifts and talents and then consider how they might use these in the service of others.

It is so positive to see students taking advantage of the Maths Magis club. Equally, I commend our senior debaters on their participation and achievement in the Ethics Olympiad. Our Chess players performed exceptionally well in the recent ACS Chess competition. These students set themselves high standards and worked hard to do their absolute best.

I am disappointed when I see students not trying with their learning, not maximising their use of class time, not completing homework, or not submitting work on time. There is so much opportunity at our college and we want to students to make the most of all that is on offer. Our teachers are enthusiastic about learning and extremely willing to assist.

The word magis challenges all members of our community to strive for excellence, to be generous, to consider the universal good, to choose the harder option and to discern choices that will have a positive impact on our community.

I invite parents to discuss the idea of magis with their children to consider how it might impact the way they proceed at Loyola.

Holidays during term time

Increasingly we are receiving notification from parents intending to schedule holidays that extend into term time. When students miss school, they miss lessons and fall behind. There is a wide body of research on the relationship between school attendance and academic achievement, with some studies suggesting school attendance is the best predictor of academic achievement. We ask parents to prioritise learning and minimise the number of days missed. Please note that examinations missed or work not submitted due to a holiday absence will incur an assessment of zero.

Music in the Round

It was such a delight to attend the recent Music in the Round concert on Monday 3 June. The music highlighted a wide variety of instruments including trumpet, trombone, flute, saxophone, clarinet, voice, violin, strings, guitar, and percussion. Audience members thoroughly enjoyed the talents of our students and were in awe of the wide variety of opportunities on offer. We thank Mrs Jennifer Taylor (Head of Music), Mrs Antonella Dalla Vecchia (Performing Arts Assistant) and Mr Matthew Thomas (Head of Performing Arts) for their outstanding organisation of this event.

JACSA Interschool Sports Carnival

During the forthcoming school holidays, twenty of our best female athletes will compete again twenty athletics from St Ignatius College, Athelstone, Adelaide. The carnival involves netball, football, volleyball, and soccer. We wish our girls well in this tournament. Parents are encouraged to come along and show their support at the matches. We look forward to the competition and yet another opportunity to connect and build relationship with those in our JACSA network.

Timor Leste

We also wish Mia Russell (11CTJM) and Riley Pawloff (11CTJM) well as they represent Loyola on a Timor Leste immersion. Mia and Riley will be joining other students from our JACSA schools, visiting Dili, Railaco and Kasait. Most importantly, they will visit Colégio Santo Inácio de Loiola in Kasait . Over many years, Loyola College has generated funds to support this school which is now running and functioning as an excellent secondary college.

I wish all students and their families a restful break and look forward to working with the community again in Term Three.