Year 9 MISA Youth of the Year

On Wednesday 26 August, Mariam A and Isabella W of Year 9 were proud to represent the College in the Macarthur Independent Schools Association’s Youth of the Year Public Speaking Competition. This competition focuses on the students’ awareness and understanding of current affairs, with participants presenting a three minute prepared speech on a socially current topic of their choice and participating in a five minute interview with a panel of Campbelltown Toastmasters Club members. The interview is somewhat prepared, and involves the discussion of issues such as religion, social, educational and political events in the local, national and international scope.
Isabella’s prepared speech displayed wisdom beyond her years as she argued the impact and relevance of Gen Z’s unique voice in the social and political climate, alluding to the significance of youth voices in creating progress over several generations. In her interview, Isabella discussed the importance of recognising privilege and fighting discrimination to promote change and growth, using the example of herself as a young woman facing sexism as she aims for a career in STEM.
Mariam’s prepared speech was an emotionally compelling discussion of Palestine, highlighting the importance of raising awareness in our community. Her passion and expression were something to behold, even moving members of her audience to tears! In the interview, Mariam asserted the necessity of active anti-racism approaches and alluded to the essential role of multicultural communities such as Campbelltown in creating a safe and inclusive environment for all. While we are greatly proud of both students, some special congratulations go to Mariam for winning second place in the competition; a great accomplishment in a pool of 14 local schools and 28 talented students.
A big thank you to Mr Duncan for his support of Miss Bryant and the St Patrick’s College public speaking community.

Year 10 J.A. Thompson History Debating

On Thursday 27 August our Year 10 History Debating squad took on the challenge of debating against Roseville College in the J.A. Thompson History Debating Competition. This week, our girls negated the topic ‘That John Howard’s legacy should be centred on his economic achievements’. Throughout the training process, the girls worked extremely well to ensure that they knew the nuances of this topic as well as the great variety of material that has been written about Howard over the last 25 years. They also worked hard to refine their case development skills as well as their use of historiography so that all of their points were supported with evidence. On the day, the girls expertly argued that Howard’s legacy should in fact be centred on his gun reforms after the 1996 Port Arthur massacre, as these reforms achieved the greatest good for the greatest number of Australians in reflection of the ideas of moral relativism and utilitarianism. The girls engaged with a well-constructed affirmative case from Roseville which dealt with the nature of the GST, Budget Surpluses and Free Trade Agreements with the USA. At the end of the debate, on the grounds of having stronger refutation and a better supported case, our girls walked away victorious! This now means that they will take their place in the Quarter Finals of the competition against Tara Anglican and this debate will happen towards the end of Term 3. Our Year 10 squad consists of: Bianca R, Grace K, Molly Q, Olivia L, Layla E and Chelsea P. Congratulations to these girls on a wonderful victory and best of luck as you prepare for the upcoming Quarter Finals! A big thank you must also go to our Year 9 squad who also watched the debate on the day.

Year 8 CSDA Quarter Final

On Friday 4 September, our Year 8A CSDA team participated in the quarter final against Santa Sabina College. The squad, consisting of Meghan W, Romina A and Emeline L, debated the subject of volunteer work over Zoom. While affirming the topic 'that volunteering should be compulsory', our students built a case surrounding the knock on effect on younger generations, questioning the negative’s stance on volunteering and compulsory as antithetical. Unfortunately, we were not the winners of this quarter final, bringing our CSDA season to a close. However, the girls received valuable feedback to incorporate all keywords in the topic into their case. A great lesson for next time! A big thank you to Mr Duncan for his adjudication and support of Miss Bryant and the girls. The College congratulates these students for making it this far in a very challenging season - we can’t wait to see what this team will achieve in the future!

Year 7 and 8 MISA Debating Round 4

We are thrilled to share that on Monday 7 September, our Year 7 and 8 MISA Debaters emerged victorious in their Round Four debate against Broughton Anglican College. Our Year 7 squad, consisting of Eliza F, Orlaith B, Diadem A and Jamie M, debated the topic ‘That coaches should be required to give equal playing time to school age athletes regardless of skill.’ Our students argued the negative, proving that this model would not be appropriate for those with disabilities, injuries or special family circumstances. Our Year 8 squad had to bring in some new debaters this week, so a big congratulations to those who represented our Year 8 team: Jacqueline C, Abby D, Emeline L and Emma G. This team debated the negative for the topic ‘That films tell a story more effectively than books’, arguing that books provide greater accessibility for the visually and hearing impaired, as well as greater depth and detail in the description. We were able to engage with the affirmative case well, providing a clearly structured and impactful rebuttal. A big thank you to Mr Duncan for his adjudication and support of Miss Bryant and the girls, and congratulations to our MISA debaters on winning their round four debate! Also, well done and thank you to our Timekeepers and Madam Chairs, Tara B, Nikitta J and Lillian J for their professional facilitation of the debate.

Laura Bryant - Public Speaking and Debating Coordinator