Students Shine in Ethics and Chess Competitions
Students from Ivanhoe Grammar School showcased their skills and collaborative spirit in two recent academic events: the Middle Years Ethics Olympiad Training Day and the Northern Star Chess State Finals.
Ethics Olympiad Training Day Sparks Insightful Debate
On Wednesday 8 October, students attended the Middle Years Ethics Olympiad Training Day at St Leonard’s College, a preparatory event for the upcoming Ethics Olympiad in November. Participants engaged with guest speakers who explored complex ethical dilemmas from the official Ethics booklet. Students then teamed up with peers from other schools to unpack additional cases and practice their reasoning in mock rounds.
Today’s Ethics practice day was a great lead into the Ethics competition that will take place in November this year. We listened to guest speakers discuss some of the cases from the Ethics booklet. Then we formed into groups with other schools to unpack the other cases and then we practiced against the other schools. It was really fun to run through this and discuss some ethical concepts that had many different views over the board.
Arjunna, Year 8
The Ethics Olympiad training was one of the best Olympiads experiences I’ve had. The other school were really friendly and it was actually fun to meet new people and talk all about values, even if it was a bit awkward at first. For a past-time debater, it was a bit of a challenge to not just completely shut down the other teams’ suggestions, but it helped me to listen more intently to their questions and remain focused. I would love to do it again (with more Year 7s) and it has definitely helped me feel more prepared for the competition. One last thing: It’s really hard to not let your questions to the other team flow and not just let yourself jump to a new topic without anything to do with the first one. It really helped me to let my teammates speak and start to trust people more with something I was involved in.
Axel, Year 7
Ivanhoe Chess Players Excel at State Finals
On Thursday, 9 October, Ivanhoe’s Chess Team competed at the Northern Star Chess State Finals held at Xavier College. The event drew top players from across the state and Ivanhoe students rose to the challenge with grit and strategic brilliance.
Year 10 student Tedric emerged as the top player in his division, earning the winner’s trophy. In the senior division, Year 11 student Yunhao secured a bronze medal. Fellow competitors Shayden, Bohan, Daniel and Henry also delivered strong performances, representing Ivanhoe with pride.
A standout achievement came from Year 7 student Heidi, who competed in the Secondary Girls division. Heidi won five out of seven games, placing her equal fourth overall and earning a silver medal for finishing second in her age group. With 58 girls in the competition, Heidi’s performance was marked by grace and conviction.
Congratulations to all students for their outstanding efforts and achievements!
