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Recently, one of the Junior debating teams from Carmel College reached a huge milestone in the Junior Open division.
The Carmel 2 Junior team consisting of Maya Williams, Sadie Walsh, Natalia Gonzales and Hayley Wong coached by Kriya D'Sa and Kirsten Barberini recently won 4 out of their 5 preliminary round debates held at Rangitoto College. This allowed them to go through to the Octo Finals.
It was the first year for three of the four girls to debate in the junior open, so getting to this stage made it an extraordinary achievement.
One of the members, Sadie, said, “although this was my first experience debating, I thoroughly enjoyed it.”
Maya also had a great experience debating this year stating that, “We have grown so much in our skill since the beginning of this year, and thanks to our perseverance and passion, we made it to heights we originally didn’t think we could reach.”
The girls were thrilled to debate at the Octo Finals which were held at Epsom Girls Grammar School. They won their debate against Mission Heights 1.
They moved onto the Quarter Finals and although they had lost their final debate against St. Kentigern, it was a truly honouring experience for the team.
Their coach Kriya showed how proud she was of her team and quoted, “On behalf of Kirsten and myself, we are so proud of our debating team and the success they've achieved. Their passion and hardwork have led to some incredible wins, and it's been amazing to watch them excel. As a team they worked exceptionally together and their ability to articulate ideas and come up with comprehensive arguments is truly impressive. We couldn't be happier with how far they've come.”
The team is beyond ecstatic to debate again next year!
Article By Romy Lee
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