DAV Debating

The St Margaret’s and Berwick Grammar School Debating Program for 2019 commenced this week, with both campuses holding their first official debating meetings for the year.

Between the two campuses, this program provides an outlet for more than 90 students to develop their skills with collaboration, critical thinking, research, literacy, and public speaking. It is also a remarkably welcoming social environment, where students have a chance to form connections with their peers, and engage with their wider school community.

This year, as a school, we are working towards increasing the level of student leadership and amount of peer mentoring available to new debaters. Accordingly, each debating team will be required to democratically elect a Captain to guide their efforts throughout the DAV season.

As in previous years, all debaters can rely on the support of their older and more experienced peers to help them get their head around this complex academic activity.

We are also aiming to increase the level of cooperation between the two senior campuses in preparing for debates, including online collaboration and practice mock debates between the girls and the boys.

Our debating programs have been growing steadily over the last few years, and this has been reflected in the level of achievement of our students. We are very optimistic that this progress will continue this year, as we build on past successes and look for further ways for all students to achieve their personal best.

For those who are interested, the first debating evening is on the evening of Thursday 7 March. Parents, staff and peers are more than welcome to attend to watch the debates in action and encourage participating teams.

Any questions about the program can be directed to Ms Emily Bermingham at St Margaret’s School (berminghame@stmargarets.vic.edu.au), or Mr Sean Pieper at Berwick Grammar School (piepers@berwickgrammar.vic.edu.au).

Mr Sean Pieper
My Summit Curricular Enrichment Coordinator