Public speaking is something that many people find terrifying and debating is certainly not for the faint of heart, yet this is what our brave students do each time they compete in the Debating Association of Victoria competition. On Wednesday 7 June, we were so proud of our C Grade debaters who tackled a secret topic for the very first time — competing against Ringwood Secondary College on the topic of ‘Cooking lessons should be compulsory in high schools’.
Terenja B (Year 10 Silver), Shiloh T (Year 10 Silver) and Bonnie E (Year 10 Red) rose to the occasion and navigated their nerves to present the negative case and were aided in their preparation by Jessica G (Year 10 Silver) and Ethan F (Year 10 Silver). While the team was defeated, I am so impressed by the students’ dedication and their improvements throughout the season.
The second debate of the evening featured our D Grade debaters challenging Tintern Grammar over the topic of whether ‘the age of retirement should be raised’. This is their first season in the debating competition and they were nothing short of impressive. MLMC achieved a confident win and all three speakers were awarded incredibly high scores. Zeke V (Year 8 Blue) and Ace W (Year 8 Silver) tied for Best Speaker honours, while Pippa H (Year 8 White) was a close second. They have worked hard and, under the tutelage of Mrs Beata Clark, were thrilled to be described as “the best D Grade team” that the adjudicator had ever seen.
Congratulations to all debaters and good luck for the next round!
