International Independent Schools Public Speaking Competition at St. Clements School in Toronto

STUDENTS SPEAK UP IN DEBATE

By Carissa (Nikkel) Balcaen '02, Debate & Public Speaking Teacher

Debate at Balmoral Hall School is a competitive team sport. In fact, our debate community continues to grow each day. Our debate prefects, Barrett and Megan, began the year by introducing a new club called TableTalk. TableTalk provides students with opportunities to express and modify their ideas on current issues such as the potential of opening Portage & Main, the benefits versus the harms of surveillance cameras, and police carding. Barrett, with support from senior debater Lindsay, leads another speaking opportunity for students learning English as an additional language to practice their communication skills during Language Learners on Wednesday mornings. Finally, there are the students who battle with words in challenging competitions and are constantly preparing for the next tournament.

Our junior and senior competitive teams meet multiple times each week to develop their understanding of precedence, analyze the rationale for the decisions that our government leaders make, and question the advantages and disadvantages of implementing new resolutions in our current evolving society. The junior team members are especially eager to work with their senior team mentors, Lauren, Lindsay, and Irina. We are a debate family, and together the team laughs and learns during early morning meetings, working lunch-hours, and evening verbal "jam sessions."

Taking risks is something that debaters do consistently, and our students have established themselves as strong competitors at several tournaments since September. We encourage you to join us at our future tournaments as a competitor, speaker, timer, observer, or judge, including the Rupert’s Land Debate & Public Speaking Tournament on December 9, 2018. (Register here as a judge.) Join the debate team, and bring the power of argumentation, refutation, and consideration of opposing viewpoints into your everyday life.

 
Back
No comments have been posted

Balmoral Hall School

630 Westminster Ave. Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada  R3C 3S1
Tel: (204) 784-1600 | Fax: (204) 774-5534 | info@balmoralhall.ca
Charitable Registration No. 12994 3932 RR0001
Our mission at Balmoral Hall School is to inspire girls’ imagination and the courage to excel, to reach, to lead, to care.

We are a nondenominational independent day and boarding school, educating students from Junior Nursery to Grade 12.