Oratory Article
Asia Pacific Junior Debate Championships
During the recent winter break, Cranbrook students participated in the Asia Pacific Junior Debate Championships. Students from Australia, China, South Korea, India, Japan and the USA competed in an intense couple of days of online debates in this prestigious event that consistently attracts talented speakers of high school age.
We are pleased to announce the following achievements:
- Alexander Kitto in Year 7 – Co-4th Best Speaker of Australia, Oceania, and Octofinalist, 13-and-Under Main Category
- Ian Wu in Year 7 – Co-10th Best Speaker, 12-and-Under Category, 3rd Best Speaker of Australia, Oceania, and Octofinalist, 13-and-Under Main Category
- Justin Wang in Year 7 – Co-5th Best Speaker of Australia, Oceania, and Octofinalist, 13-and-Under Main Category
Congratulations to all three students, whose enthusiasm and commitment to excellence in debating has clearly served them well.
Oratory Programmes in Semester 2
With the commencement of the new semester, we welcomed many returning students and new faces to the range of oratory programmes on offer at Cranbrook. Our Monday public speaking group has been focused on preparing speeches on the topic of ‘A Fair Go’, while our Friday Voice and Communication group have continued their preparations for their upcoming externally assessed readings and presentations. Debaters have achieved success in the first two rounds of the CAS competition and a fresh cohort of social and legal debaters have begun their journey during our Thursday afternoon sessions. Starting this week, Model UN is back with an interesting resolution on the ongoing question of Afghanistan democracy – good practice for our planned inter-school event later in the term!
This semester is a changing of the guard as we will farewell our current Year 12 leadership team and welcome in new student leaders for the 2024-25 school year. Applications for those positions will come out later this term and we look forward to seeing the next group carry on and strengthen what is a tremendous legacy built over recent years. Over the weeks and months ahead, we’ll bring you all news from Competition, Social and Legal Debating, Public Speaking, Model UN and our Voice and Communication group – be sure to read our weekly updates right here.
CAS Competition Debating Update
Cranbrook has had an excellent start to the Term 3 CAS Competition. Although a short competition of only 5 rounds, CAS is a fierce annual rivalry between the Combined Associated Schools of Cranbrook, Barker, Knox, St Aloysius, Trinity, and Waverley.
Last Friday night we took on Barker College and won the following divisions: 7As, 8As, 8Bs, 9As, 10As, 10Bs, and the 1sts. Special commendation goes to the following debaters:
- Ian Wu (7A) for demonstrating conscientiousness and critical thinking when discussing minorities and other sensitive issues.
- Simon Tesvic (9A) for listening well in coaching and directly applying new skills and feedback in the debate.
- Tom Harnett (Thirds) for presenting a speech that balanced rhetorical techniques and clear analysis.
- David Tabachnik (Seconds) for immense improvement on his style and manner, presenting a well-expressed and clear first affirmative speech.
See below the CAS topics:
| Division | Round 3 CAS: Social Issues |
| 7A and 7B | That Australia should have mandatory national community or military service |
| 8A and 8B | That we should ban violent video games |
| 9A and 9B | That we should ban violent video games |
| 10A and 10B | That we oppose the ‘parachuting in’ of candidates |
| Opens (choice) | That we oppose the ‘parachuting in’ of candidates That we should measure gross national happiness and base policy decisions on those measurements rather than on GDP That we would prefer to live in a world where personal success and failure were widely seen as primarily a consequence of random factors, as opposed to personal choice |
See below the updated tally:
| ISDA Division | Round 1 vs Trinity | Round 2 vs Barker |
| 7A | Loss | WIN |
| 7B | WIN | Loss |
| 8A | WIN | WIN |
| 8B | WIN | WIN |
| 9A | WIN | WIN |
| 9B | Loss | Loss |
| 10A | Loss | WIN |
| 10B | WIN | WIN |
| 4ths | WIN | Loss |
| 3rds | Loss | Loss |
| 2nds | WIN | Loss |
| 1sts | WIN | WIN |
This Friday 9th August sees the following debates take place:
| Details | CAS |
| Round | Round 3 vs St Aloysius |
| Venue | Cranbrook Vicars Building Level 4 |
| Address | 5 Victoria Road, Bellevue Hill |
| Entry via | Rose Bay Avenue pedestrian gate |
| Years 7-9 debate / finish | Debates start 6.30pm / Debates finish 7.30pm |
| Years 10-12 debate / finish | Debates start 7.30pm / Debates finish 9.00pm |
| Topic area | Education |
| Spectator policy | Spectators welcome |
A reminder that all Years 7-9 debaters must be collected by a parent or guardian at the end of the night.
Upcoming oratory events
- NSW Junior Public Speaking Competition at Sydney Boys High School this Wednesday 7th August
- Model UN lunchtimes this Wednesday 7, Thursday 8 and Friday 9 August
- Social Debating, Mooting and Mock Trial this Thursday 8 August from 3.30-5.30pm
- AMEB Voice and Communication group this Friday 9 August from 3.30-5.00pm
- CAS Debating R3 vs St Aloysius this Friday 9 August from 3.45pm
- Public Speaking next Monday 12 August from 3.30-5.30pm
Oratory programmes are fully subscribed for Semester 2
There has been a lot of recent interest in participating in one or more of our oratory programmes. However, close date for sign-ups have long passed and we are presently fully subscribed across all debating, public speaking, and Model UN. We are therefore unable to accept new enrolments. However, students keen to gain access to our resources and prepare themselves for Semester 1 2025 sign-up are welcome to reach out to me (note, we only accept expressions of interest from students directly). Sign-up for Semester 1 2025 offerings will circulate via student email in February.
Contact
Should you or your son have any further questions about any of Cranbrook’s oratory programmes, you are welcome to reach out to the Head of Oratory and Student Journalism, Mr Benjamin Smith, at bsmith@cranbrook.nsw.edu.au. In the first instance, students should be making contact about getting involved.
Essential information and highlights for parents will be posted here on Cranbrook Connect as part of the Thursday Link. Students involved in oratory programmes will receive updates via their respective Canvas or TEAMS channels.
Benjamin Smith
Head of Oratory & Student Journalism