Sport Report – Term 4, Week 5
Term 4 – Week 5 Results Week 5 signalled the end of the road for the Senior Sport Teams as they played in their final fixtures of the shortened, term...
It’s Term 2, and that means it is time for the most competitive and ferocious of team sports… Move aside soccer, AFL, and netball – it’s debating season!
This year, Norwood International High School has four teams debating with Debating SA and an additional Senior Team debating for the South Australian Debating Association. Round One and the opening of Round Two have witnessed some highs and lows for our fierce debaters.
Our Year 7 team came close to a victory against the well-renowned Parkside Primary but are determined to strive for success in Round 2 against Emmaus Christian College next week.
Our Year 8 team conceded defeat to St Dominic’s Priory College in a high-scoring round with a speaker average of a commendable 87/100 points. Sophie, Sassika, and Persephone all spoke with conviction in a very evenly matched contest on the topic that there should be a mandatory retirement age for politicians. They headed into Round 2 with increased confidence and applied their feedback from the adjudicator, just missing out on a win to St Paul’s College. Despite their defeat, Sassika was awarded speaker of the night. The team was incredibly grateful to Megan, who spoke beautifully and supported them at the last moment as Sophie had lost her voice. Evangeline joined the group in the role of timekeeper after lending her support to the team as they built their speeches.
The Year 9 team, made up of finalists from the previous year, had a resounding win against an adjudicator after a forfeit from St Paul’s College. Clair received speaker of the night, edging out teammates CJ and Fatima, with Jennifer assisting with chairing and timekeeping. Their high-scoring win secured them the top spot on the ladder for the Year 9 division at the end of Round 1. Their success continued in the second round with a flawless defeat of Christian Brothers College on an incredibly complex topic, defending the rights of parents not to be overturned by the courts. Jennifer, Clair, and CJ all spoke with clarity and conviction on what should have been the more difficult side of the topic, with Jennifer receiving speaker of the night for her meticulous first affirmative speech.
The Senior Debating SA team, made up of students in Years 10 and 11, had a strong win against Trinity College Green, garnering them a coveted place in the Top 8 for a highly competitive division. Meanwhile, the senior SADA team, with numbers bolstered by CJ and Clair from the Year 9 team, had a resounding win against Wilderness College in the SADA format, which includes contesting points of information mid-debate – adding a level of tension and quick thinking to each round. Clair performed outstandingly at short notice. Second speaker, Fareeza, demonstrated quick thinking along with her beautiful speaking manner. Sokun Flinders, our NIHS student who is also on the state team, rebutted with finesse to bring the debate home.
We want to thank our old scholar mentors, Eva Harris and Sofia Demond Iouguina, for their support in preparing and rehearsing the debates with our teams, along with our staff coaches; Mr. Chatwin, Mr. Dama, Ms. Betteridge, and Mr. Makarenko. Not to mention all of the parents and friends who come out to support our debaters on these increasingly cool nights.
We still have some availability for the Year 8 team and senior SADA team for Year 11 & 12 students. Expressions of interest can be directed to Ms Betteridge.
Laura Betteridge
Teacher
