DEBATING - YEAR 11
Back Row : |
Amponsaa Tabi-Amponsah , Nicola Littley-Va ’ asili ( Teacher ) |
Front Row : |
Alexis Ormond , Jeremy Beecroft , Becs Cadenhead |
Absent : |
Isabella McKeefry , Geordie Bothamley , Mohan Ward , Poppy Buller |
Year 11 debating in 2022 wasn ’ t like it usually is - just as everything else hasn ’ t been these past few years . It still , however , managed to be a great experience . We got off to a bit of a rocky start when our very first interschool debates for the year were on Zoom instead of in person , but we were well adjusted to online debating by this point so we soldiered on . The format for the in-person debates was a bit different this year , with one school hosting all of the teams ( as opposed to having one of the two opposing teams hosting the other at their school ). In Term 2 , our debate ended up being postponed to early Term 3 at the very last minute due to Covid illnesses , no surprises there , but once it finally came around the host school was Woodford House . These were our first inperson debates since 2021 , so we were very grateful for this opportunity , and it ended up being a very successful day of debating . Term 3 ’ s host school was Iona College , and some great debates were had there too - even one with the two HNHS teams facing off against each other ! Our first team placed second in Hawke ’ s Bay , and our second team tied for third ; a great effort overall . Not only did we have interschool debating , but there were also a couple tournaments we debated in as well , notably the Hawke ’ s Bay Regionals and the Hawke ’ s Bay Impromptu Cup . Excitingly , the winners of both of those tournaments collectively were five of our Year 11 debaters ! While we faced several Covid-related challenges , as we have since we started high school , all the Year 11 debaters had a very successful year - bring on 2023 Senior Debating !
Alexis Ormond
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