Five Year 7 and Year 8 students were chosen to compete in a debating competition at Howick Intermediate.
It was a great experience and introduction to debating for them while taking time off school in this challenging year.
There were six schools participating, all determined to take the trophy back home!
There were three debates, with the following moots:
- This house would allow Genetic engineering to control pests in New Zealand.
- This house believes that parents should actively monitor their children’s social media accounts.
- This house believes that mitigation is a more sustainable approach than elimination in managing the COVID-19 pandemic.
Our school negated the first moot, with Constanza Lazarte-Simic as the first speaker, Aaron Santoso as second, Bernadette Rose Tominiko as third, and Sienna-Bella Gribble as Reserve.
Each speaker got four minutes to talk and present, but only two and a half for the leader’s reply. Although the team lost that debate, it was good to receive feedback to improve their debating skills.
After the rest of the debates were finished, two teams of the three winners were selected to compete for the Grand Final.
This was an impromptu debate with only forty minutes to prepare. The moot was ‘This house believes Te Reo Maori should be a compulsory subject in primary’. Bucklands Beach Intermediate took the win on this occasion.
A big thanks to our mentors, Alanna Santoso and Alexandria Lazatin, who helped us prepare and write our speeches. More thanks to Mrs Kilpatrick and Mrs David who organised the trip and provided both advice and transport on the day.
