The Arthur Waldron Seventh Day Adventist Secondary School has won the 2023 inter-secondary school debate. Arthur Waldron SDA emerged overall winner over Orion Academy who came second. The final debate and championship held at Emerald Movies Theater on Tuesday.
Representing Arthur Waldron SDA were Burzha Bertrand and Shereen Carbon; and representing Orion Academy were Lena Maglaire and Dymond Daniel. Arthur Waldron emerged the overall debate champion with 689 points and Orion came second with 615 points.
Bertrand was the best speaker and also won best rebuttal.
It is interesting to note that Arthur Waldron SDA was knocked out of the competition in the first round against St. Mary Academy (SMA). But because they had the highest points at that stage, the judges asked them to return to the debates. Ultimately, they won the overall championship and Coach Jeannette Languedoc revealed the secret of their success.
This win is a great demonstration of the principle that failure is not final. It was also a great opportunity to teach the students the growth mindset. We were knocked out in the first round but we were asked to continue because of points and at the end of every round we went to the judges to ask about ways we can improve and areas to work on.
Jeannette Languedoc
Bertrand and Carbon expressed joy at emerging the 2023 debate champion. “Our victory began when we faced SMA again after being knocked out by them in the first round, and we defeated them and secured our space in the finals,” they said. They also thanked the organizer, Trudy Christian, and the team from Dominica State College Literary and Debating Society for the competition.
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