CDSA Debating Semi Final

St Agnes Rooty Hill students

Last month saw a contingent of committed and supportive staff and parents attend the semifinal of the Catholic Schools Debating Association’s annual competition at Santa Sabina College, Strathfield.

It is no easy feat to reach this penultimate stage, and St Agnes is very proud of the Year 10 team who reached the semi-finals from an initial pool of around 74 teams from across Sydney.

Piadora Rahme, Joy Odemwengie, Alyssa Alcala, along with reserve speaker Tony El-Ghossein, have demonstrated enormous perseverance, steadfastness, commitment and self-sacrifice since Term 1, dutifully attending coaching sessions and giving up their Friday nights to represent us at a competitive level. Congratulations team!

Unfortunately, the team did not come away with a win and missed the much-anticipated spot in the final, held at Oakhill College on Friday, July 29. They should, nevertheless, be proud of their accomplishment in a pursuit that demands enormous courage and intellectual rigour.

Their coaches, Miss Valleri and Miss Brogan, should be congratulated for their commitment to developing the team’s skills, and to Mr Regan, Mr Sadsad and Ms Refalo for providing very valuable input and to Mr Krishna, Miss Libri, Miss Raad and Ms Vassallo for adjudicating during the competition.