Debating Final :D

So as I said in a previous post (Debating Update!) I got through to the Final of the Leinster Schools Debating Competition which was held this Tuesday.

source

After an intense week of preparation I was really excited for the competition, and there was a lot of build up and anticipation throughout the week.
  After a controversial change of venue, now held in UCD, the motion for debate was 'This House Believes That Dictatorships Are A Legitimate Form of Government', and Juliette and I were opposing.
  After an extremely tight debate, the result was announced that CBC Monkstown was the winning team.
  I really enjoyed the experience and was extremely happy with how far I had got, considering it was my first year in Senior Debating! It was a great night on all accounts.

Debating Update!

Leinster Semi Finalists

So as some of you may be aware, I am an active and competitive debater, and have been competing in many competitions this year, such as the Hist and the Phil Mace Debates held in Trinity College, Dublin, and also the Leinster Schools Debating Competition and the Aoife Begley Memorial Competition, which are prepared debating competitions.
  Both prepared competitions involve several rounds over the course of the year with a week to prepare motions. As my partner and I continued progressing through rounds in both competitions, we found ourselves getting more and more pressured with rounds almost every week and sometimes overlapping. Sadly, because of this we decided to drop out of the Aoife Begley Competition.
  We continued on with the Leinsters, and after reaching the Semi Finals on Monday, we are through to the finals!! This is a really big achievement for us, as 200 teams entered the competition, and only 4 make the final!
  I'm extremely excited about this, so I will let you know how we get on!

Until next time, 

Melissa :)

The Phil

This Friday and Saturday, Juliette and I competed in the PhilSpeaks Senior Schools Mace Debate competition in Trinity College. The competition (commonly known as 'The Phil' ), is an unprepared debating competition with 5 rounds where teams accumulate points and the top 8 teams break to the semi-finals (I think I wrote about this in an earlier post, read it here).
  The weekend started off on an uncertain note, as when I got off the bus into Dublin City Centre, I felt the onset of a migraine. Juliette and I quickly headed for a pharmacy to try and pick up some neurofen to try and delay the migraine, and luckily, despite a pounding headache and some blurred vision, I recovered quickly enough and was able to compete! What a relief that was!
  My teammate and I prepared motions such as 'Homeschooling Should Be Banned' and 'This House Believes All Catholics Should Elect the Pope'. Over the course of the 5 rounds, we came 1st, 1st, 2nd, 1st, and 3rd, which meant that we broke as the 3rd team to the semi-finals.
  We were given an extremely tricky motion for the semi: 'This House Would Take A Pill That Stops You From Falling In Love', and we have to oppose this motion. After a great debate and a close call, we unfortunately didn't make the final, but nonetheless we had a great weekend.
  The competition was so well-run and organised, and I really had a fantastic time. Between silly games, eating popcorn and candyfloss, meeting new people and of course, debating, the weekend was jam-packed with fun activities and the society running the competition really made a huge effort so that it ran smoothly.
  One further highlight of the competition, was that I came overall 6th on the speaker tab, and as a relatively inexperience debater, I was so delighted with that outcome!

  To anyone that is thinking of taking up debating, I would highly recommend it - it is an extremely valuable skill to have, and aside from it helping so much with English and other subjects, it's just so much fun!!!
  Until next time, as someone once said; 

"Keep Calm and Think Critically"

The Hist

This weekend, along with my partner (and sister!), I competed in the Trinity College Senior School's Mace Debate, also known as 'The Hist'. Mace Debates are events which usually run over two days, a Friday evening and all day Saturday. Teams are given 15 minutes to prepare speeches on unknown motions and then compete against 3 other teams. Mace Debates usually have 4 or 5 rounds over a weekend.
   In our 4 rounds, we came 1st, 1st, 4th and 1st, debating motions like 'This House Would Boycott the Russian Winter Olympics', and 'This House Would Make Irish the Only State Language'.
  Juliette and I broke as the 3rd team into the semi-final, which we were delighted with as we are a relatively inexperienced team! We spoke proposing the motion 'This House Would Hold Parents of Bullies Criminally Responsible for their Children's Actions'. We unfortunately didn't make the final, but we were delighted with our performance and had a lot of fun over the weekend!
  One final surprise, was when the overall speaker tab was announced, I had come 3rd, which meant I had received the 3rd most speaker points over the whole weekend of competition! I was not expecting this at all, and it was a great way to finish off a great weekend!

  I would highly recommend debating and Mace debating to anyone who is considering giving it a try!

Debating and Driving

source

This week I competed in the first round debate of the Leinster Schools Debating Competition. My partner (who is also my sister!) and I proposed the motion that 'This House Would Introduce Third Level Fees'. After a tough round, especially since it was only Round 1, we found out that we got through to the second round! We were delighted, and I'm really looking forward to the second round.

source

  This week we also had a road safety talk from the Drive 4 Life program. It was a really eye opening talk, and it made me really consider how dangerous and risky driving actually is. We were told about driving precautions, how crashes happen, the effects of car crashes, and we even took a theory driving test! Since the talk, I have found myself noticing everything my parents do while driving the car much more often, and I am much more aware of how dangerous an activity driving actually is.
  So keep careful on the roads everyone, and I'll be posting again soon! :)

Workshops!

For the past 3 Wednesdays while we didn't have work experience, we have had workshops in school to prepare us for our entry into the world of work (temporary though it will be!).

  

  We started off with a workshop called 'Life Without Limits'. In this, we were told how not to limit ourselves and to be confident in everything we do. I really enjoyed this workshop and had a fun morning too!
  We then spent some time with Gilíosa learning how to give shoulder and head massages (which were unbelievably relaxing), as well as being told about the somewhat abstract concept of 'energy'.

source

  Over the weeks we had several Positive Parties with Denise - we put on funny masks and wigs and sang silly songs, while being talking about our qualities and strengths. We also did laughter yoga - which everyone (including me!) may have been a little too tired to participate fully in, but all the same we had a good laugh! :P

source

  My favourite of the workshops would probably be the Etiquette and Deportment classes from BK InniÚ. I got the chance to walk the red carpet wearing high heels, learned how to apply makeup, how to care for my hands and nails, and what skin tone I am (warm tones all the way!).

source

   Also, on Saturday I went to a debating workshop in UCD (University College Dublin) in preparation for the Leinster Schools Debating Competition. This is a debating competition for students in Transition Year, 5th year and 6th year and it is run by Ireland's two biggest universities - Trinity College and UCD. I can't wait for the competition to start, and I will keep you posted on everything I get up to related to it!
  For the most part I did enjoy the workshops, and I look forward to spending the rest of my Wednesdays in work experience!
  Hope everyone is well,

Melissa :)