Thursday afternoon saw our very first debating competition take place where Year 6 students competed in The Great Debate. The Great Debate is now in its 6th year and sees students from Year 6 compete in two debates against Pimpama State Secondary College's Year 7 students. The aim of the debate is to prove that it doesn't matter how old you are, if your arguments are strong and well supported with credible evidence, if you deliver your arguments with a passionate confidence, you can persuade any audience. Your voice matters!

Debating exemplifies our 'Good at Learning, Good at Life' mission as it provides students with an opportunity to critically analyse contemporary issues through multiple lenses. Not only are they developing their oratory skills and confidence but they are developing essential skills that will make them knowledgeable and articulate future leaders and citizens.

The topics and our teams this year were:

Debate 1: That peer pressure is a good thing (CRSS - Affirmative)
CRSS Team: Summer, Ruby, Porsche and Scarlett
Chairperson: Tiana
Timekeeper: Taliea

Debate 2: That schools should have remained open during the COVID-19 restrictions (CRSS - Negative)
CRSS Team: Isabella, Kai, Hannah and Abbey

Our students all delivered strong arguments and spoke with such confidence and conviction that saw them win both these debates. So it looks like we need to embrace the power of peer pressure and raise strong and resilient children, and we are all in support of the government's decision to close schools to most students at the beginning of Term 2. We have future politicians in the making!

The Great Debate is normally the competition that kickstarts our extensive debating program at Coomera Rivers. However, this year, it will be the only debating competition for the year due to COVID-19 restrictions which is a real shame given the depth of talent we have in this area at our school. We've certainly developed a reputation for producing very strong debating teams.

A very big thank you to our adjudicators Rod Dixon and Francesca Thorn from Toastmasters who are very experienced in the public speaking and debating arena. Their feedback was extremely complementary and they were once again impressed with just how well primary school students can persuade and entertain an audience.

Debating is a program we value highly at Coomera Rivers and we look forward to being able to get back on track in future debates next year.  Congratulations to our students on a very deserving win.