School Highlights (Cont'd)
Reflection on the Y10-12 House Debating Finals
Leanne Chua, Debating Co-Leader
On 13 September, Barrett and Fethers went head to head in the Senior House Debating Finals and it was truly one of the best debates I've had the luck to witness.
The topic of the debate was 'That everyone should be vegan'; and it most definitely fanned a debate, not just between the debaters of the two houses, but many people in the School.
On the affirmative team, Elisabeth Yeo, Annabel Hazelbank and Jack Kirkham represented Fethers and on the negative, Jerry Ge, Toby Wrightson and Spencer Tighe-Martin debated on behalf of Barrett.
Words simply cannot describe how incredibly thought-provoking, yet humorous the speeches were, and when the speakers reached the time limit, I reluctantly had to clap them off-stage.
The best part about the debate was the conversations that continued throughout lunch. It was great to see all my friends really engaged in the endless discussions that ensued even after House Debating had officially ended. I thoroughly enjoyed watching the heated finals and I hope the 2019 House Debating topic will spark just as many conversations as it did this year.
Reflection on the Y7-9 Debating Finals
Hamish Bruce, member of the winning Barrett team in the Y7-9 Finals
I was a part of the Barrett team from the first debate, which I only joined at the last minute to fill in. I decided to continue because it was such an enjoyable and beneficial experience, all the way up to the finals where we emerged victoriously.
Debating is very helpful to be able to think about issues from multiple perspectives. For example, I was initially appalled that I had to debate about school lunches, but soon discovered the ways that this could affect people on an economic and environmental level, and how that changed even as a result of one's socioeconomic status.
Feedback from adjudicators is always incredibly helpful, and as a result I was able to understand the winning conditions for a debate, and how to formulate arguments and rebuttals in order to meet those conditions. In other parts of my life, it has clearly affected my speaking skills, and I have found it much easier to think about issues on a deeper level and apply that to numerous classes.
Ultimately, House Debating was an incredible experience, compelling me as well to join the Kilvington DAV Debating Team. I cannot wait to do some more debating next year, and hopefully top the ladder once again.
Poetry Slam Reflection
Lily Wallis, Year 9
The poetry slam was a wonderful experience. I enjoyed every bit of it from watching the performances to performing for everyone with my group.
Although we did not get through to the next round, I do not regret going because I had so much fun performing and seeing the other schools performing their poetry slams.
Some of them were amazing, which explains why the judges let through two teams to the finals and not just one team.
The hot EZB was very funny and made us all laugh the whole time. I definitely enjoyed this experience very much and would one hundred percent do it again as I had so much fun!!
STEAM Careers Expo
On 13 September, as part of our STEAM Program, we held our STEAM Careers Expo. Students had access to experts from various universities and industry covering professions such as IT, medicine, engineering, physiotherapy, robotics and aviation.
Thank you to all the professionals including parents, for supporting this event.
