Sydney Boys High School Debating

Debating News, 9 September 2005

GPS Debating Round 7 - SHS vs St Ignatius College (The Decider)

Thank you to all the boys who packed out the auditorium at Iggies last Friday. It was excellent to have such large numbers of supporters for the final debate of the season. The large crowd of High supporters really shook up Iggies and created an excellent atmosphere for the debate.

Unfortunately the result was not in our favour in either First or Second grade, but anyone who witnessed the debate will tell you how ferocious the battle was.

A huge congratulations to First Grade - Gabriel McManus, Tom Kaldor and William Clegg, and Second Grade - Faraz Amin, Romesh Abeysuriya and Sriram Srikumar, for their gallant efforts throughout the season. A special word of thanks and appreciation to their coaches Hamish Nairn, Alex McCauley and Alex Gruszka, who have put in many many hours to develop the boys skills, analysis and general knowledge.

Well done to all the boys who debated this year - it was a record season for High.

It has been quite a learning experience for me as MIC this year and I'm already preparing and planning for next season in order to improve aspects of coaching and debating opportunities.

The Debating Dinner

The Debating Dinner was held at the Outterside Centre last Saturday and by all accounts was a huge success. Guests were welcomed to refreshments on the landing and Dr Jaggar gave the opening address. Each coach displayed their own public speaking ability by providing a run down of the season and announcing the Debaters of the Year.

Tom Dawkins from the class of 1997 and the founder of Vibewire Youth Services was our Distinguished Guest who, after hearing of the successes of the Debaters this season spoke about the importance of taking advantage of the opportunities available to young people and the role they have in creating opportunities where they may not have otherwise existed. He talked also of the importance of social capital and the enormous role and value of people in shaping and directing communities. Tom was thrilled to have the opportunity to be involved with High once again, and his speech was insightful and relevant to the students. You can check out Vibewire's Youth Initiatives at www.vibewire.net

This year we have instituted the Dr Joseph Suttie Award for Excellence in Teamwork which rewards the team who has displayed cooperation commitment and change. The prize is to be awarded in consultation with the coaches, the MIC and the Principal. The perpetual plaque is engraved with the names of the team and their coach and the award includes a subscription to The Economist magazine, which will be available for all students to use in the library. Congratulations to the winners of the inaugural award is the First III's 2005. I would especially like to thank Evan Solomons and Hamish Nairn for their assistance with organising the trophies and plaque.

The Debating Dinner could not have been the success it was without the enduring hard work, attention to detail, care and effort of Mrs Valda Roser. Valda has been a powerhouse of energy in organising the table settings and decorations that truly transform the "sheds" into a gorgeous function centre. She is truly irreplaceable, her contribution to High is remarkable - thank you Valda!!

Next year we will ensure that we have a bigger venue (ie the hall) so that nobody misses out on attending the dinner as was unfortunately the case this year.

DSG Annual General Meeting

The Annual General Meeting for the Debating Supporters Group will be held on Tuesday, November 15, at 18:30 in the Teachers Common Room.

More information can be found at www.sydneyhigh.org.au/debating. Also, you can e-mail sbhsdebating@gmail.com.

Jocelyn Brewer
MIC Debating

SBHSDebating

Aspire Higher

Debating News, 9 September 2005

GPS Debating Round 7 - SHS vs St Ignatius College (The Decider)

The Debating Dinner

DSG Annual General Meeting

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