Enrichment ingenuity and commitment

Gold in the Middle School Ethics Olympiad

On Wednesday 8 November, two middle-school ethics teams made up of students from Years 7, 8 and 9 joined 14 other teams for an exciting day of ethical discussion. Santa Sabina students had been training for more than a term, attending after school sessions with their senior ethics mentor Kate who has guided them in learning about ethical theories and the etiquette of the Olympiad.

The Ethics Olympiad occurs every year and is open to students from Years 5-11. The program complements the philosophy elective and builds students’ confidence in analytical thinking and public speaking.

Eve Ardanga from Year 9 reports:

‘This week students from Years 7 to 9 competed in the Middle school Ethics Olympiad working collaboratively with our teams towards establishing ethical responses to challenging and unique ethical problems, ranging from real world issues to hypotheticals. During the competition we were able to discuss various issues such as nature’s impact on the human experience and the impact politics has on the sporting industry, amongst other important ethical questions. Throughout the day we were able to engage in discussion with various schools and develop further understanding of various viewpoints and values, bringing home the third consecutive win for Santa Sabina in the Middle School Ethics Olympiad. This was an amazing experience allowing for discussion and deep understanding of ethics as well as their application in the real world.’

Science Olympiad

Earlier in the year, 15 students from Years 7-10 participated in the 2023 Science Olympiad. A challenging online test that examines students’ science knowledge and problem solving skills. The results are in! We congratulate Annelies Notelaers of Year 9 and Jayden Xie of Year 10 for achieving a Distinction. We also recognise Kate Fernandez, Lillian Gill, Emily Hirschhorn, Michelle Indra, Serena Li and Alanah Quinn for achieving a credit.

Brain Bee Top 50

In Term 3 Benedicta Darkwa attended the finals of the NSW Brain Bee Challenge. In round 1 she scored in the top 10% of competitors and was invited to State finals at UNSW for an engaging day of quizzes, physiology labs and a tour of the disease museum.

The Brain Bee is a competition open to all Year 10 students and in 2024 round 1 starts in March. Interested Year 9 students are encouraged to contact me to enter next year’s competition and to start learning about neuroscience using the education perfect platform.

Sydney Philosothon

Students from Years 9 – 11 attended the Sydney Philosothon at the end of August. The event, hosted by the Centre for Critical Thinking and Ethics, in association with Newington College, engaged students in an evening of ethical discussion using the communities of inquiry approach.

Our students spoke passionately and eloquently about contemporary philosophical and ethical issues with students from multiple Sydney schools. In the process building new connections whilst respectfully challenging each other’s viewpoints.

‘I take Philosophy elective, so being able to integrate points made in class discussions into the conversations our small groups were having was really interesting. I enjoyed being able to talk to people from other schools and learn about their opinions on the topics we talked about. The topics my small group discussed included: The effect of language on the perception of reality, the tyranny of the majority and what characteristics create a true democracy, as well as the benefits of an ambiguous form of government, which was drawn from discussions about the lives of Plato and Socrates.’
Isabelle Law
Year 10

Biotech Futures Challenge

Aditi Kamath, Arianna Harris and Charlotte Salameh competed in the Biotech Futures Challenge this year. This student-led, independent project sees students mentored by academics from the University of Sydney to try and solve a real world problem using biology and technology.

The girls created an engaging poster to spruik MEDIMate – an integrated AI technology that would streamline health services for patients and clinicians. All students involved in the challenge were invited to the Symposium at Sydney University to showcase their innovative ideas. The girls were also treated to thought-provoking keynote speeches from Professor Hugh Durrant-Whyte, NSW Chief Scientist and Engineer, Distinguished Professor Fang Chen and Professor Ali Abbas in the hallowed atmosphere of McLaurin Hall at the University of Sydney.

It has been another busy semester of enrichment at the College. I am always impressed by the ingenuity and commitment of our students and their ability to run with the opportunities presented to them.