Sirius Debaters Forge Forth!

Week 4 of Term 3 marked the end of the tough and testing Debating Association of Victoria annual contest whereby students from all over Victoria deploy their debating and rebuttal skills in the public arena. Our Year 9 and 10 students were tasked to craft speeches in response to gnarly topics such as: 'That refugees should gain full access to the Australian welfare system'- imagine the fun we had arguing on the negative side of this debate! Our girls approached this one by advancing the model that the current welfare system is insufficient for existing Australian residents and therefore an entirely new, separate financial arrangement is required for those asylum seekers settling here. They proposed education loans and business sponsorship as an alternative to welfare handouts in order to dignify and integrate the refugees rather than leaving them to languish on small weekly payments and visas that often prevent them from attaining employment. This clever strategy ensured wins for two of our D grade teams.

Huge congratulations go to our Year 9 debaters. Three of our four Year 9 teams won three debates of a sequence of five - with all girls demonstrating great improvement in their skills and confidence over the semester. Additionally, our three Year 10 teams also did very well with one of these teams making it through to the August finals against Lowther Hall Anglican Grammar School in Essendon. Shake the hands of Muna Sheikh, Hanane Seid and Sumaia Khan!

Additionally, praise is due to the girls of Year 9 and 10 who are currently working hard towards and are participating in the UN Youth Conference, held annually at Melbourne Law School and other venues. This interesting and challenging experience sees the girls representing a given nation and all its geopolitical claims and interests whilst advocating for new international laws and resolutions. I had the privilege of watching Zainab Al-Fiadh and Sadia Sattar represent Belgium at the Melbourne Law school earlier in August.

With Youdebate 2019 scheduled to take place in Sydney on the 17th and 18th of October 2019, the debating excitement continues to grow. Will you join the committed leagues of Sirius orators in 2020?