A group of our Year 8 students participated in their first Debaters Association of Victoria debate held at Tintern Grammar on Wednesday 31 March.
Congratulations to Shiloh Thurrowgood, Summer Hathaway, Amelia MacDonald, Terenja Bork, Poppi Davies and Bonnie Edwards-Tesselaar. The topic they debated for the negative was the proposition "That the government should subsidise tourism in regional Victoria" and our young students did an outstanding job on the night with both MLMC teams winning their debates.
We extend an extra special congratulations to Bonnie and Poppi who were both awarded Best Speaker in their debates.
The DAV Schools Competition is the largest English-language debating competition in the world. It is divided into 20 regions encompassing both inner and outer Melbourne suburbs, Geelong, Ballarat and Bendigo. The format of the competition is Australian three-on-three style, with three speakers to each team, debating over five rounds across the year. Students in Years 10 and above have the opportunity to debate a mix of prepared and secret topics (secret topics are announced only on the night of the debate), while students in Year 9 or below are introduced to the competition through a series of prepared topics. At the end of the five regional rounds, eligible teams continue into a finals series.
Participating in debating at a school level promotes confidence and effective public presentation skills. It also encourages logical and critical thinking, social awareness and an interest in current affairs. Topics often challenge students to consider issues and arguments they might not normally encounter in the classroom.
MLMC’s A Grade team had a bye in Round 1. The next round at Ringwood will be held on Wednesday 28 April.
