WelCom May 2022
St Mary’s College
Ten St Mary’s College debaters took part in the Wellington regional debating competition, held on Zoom over the first weekend in April. The competition involving 36 teams was run by the New Zealand Schools Debating Council.
‘Our students did fantastically well,’ says Aimee McNaughton, St Mary’s College English Teacher. ‘The teams debated over five rounds, covering complex and interesting topics including graffiti, performance pay for teachers, asylum for authoritarian leaders, parliamentary term limits, and time travel.
Aeryn Elizabeth Lao, Sahana Bharadwaj, Jael Laroza did well in close debates against excellent teams and learned a lot to take back to their respective teams.
Ana Ayora, Sarah Hay and Regina Fernandes won three out of their five debates, and narrowly missed out on the quarter finals break.
Isabella Cash, Emily Ung, Hannah Sema and Maria John reached the quarter finals and lost to Onslow College in an excellent debate about big business tax credits and incentives, in a 3–2 split decision.
‘We are very excited to have two of our debaters recognised for their significant talents,’ says Aimee. ‘Hannah Sema, year 12, received one of three promising-speaker awards, for being a student not yet in year 13, showing promise and potential. The award is a marvellous reflection of her talents as a debater and orator.
‘Isabella Cash, year 11, was named as one of six students in the Wellington regional debating team. She will receive high-quality coaching from top New Zealand debaters, and will debate at the Nationals this year against the country’s best debaters. This is a phenomenal accomplishment at her age. Isabella was also named as the most promising speaker of the tournament! We are very proud of her and look forward to seeing her debate at Nationals.’
St Patrick’s College
St Patrick’s College Wellington students are succeeding in debating using a new format for their club, which sees all year levels working together. The students meet weekly with their coach, Librarian Ellie Nicholson, to learn new techniques and work on upcoming debates. ‘It has been fantastic to see the boys come together with a real sense of brotherhood, sharing ideas and supporting each other’s teams,’ says Ellie. The three teams – a Senior Prem B and two Junior Cert – won both their debates in the first term.
In April they spent a weekend at the library competing via Zoom in the Wellington Regional debating competition against teams from all around the region. Topics ranged from punishments for graffiti to the morals of time travel.
One of the younger debaters, Michael Cash, shone throughout the weekend, participating in every debate, trying all the debating roles, and stretching himself to support his team. His speeches were well thought out, interesting and challenging to his opposition, says Ellie. ‘Michael’s speaking style was engaging and passionate, earning him one of the top awards of the weekend — Most Promising Junior Debater.
‘We look forward to hearing more from these debaters as they learn and grow together.’