Jag Debaters Roar Through Winning Season
Another winning weekend for New Roads speech and debate team at the super-competitive Palos Verdes Peninsula High School Tournament, attended by 82 schools from six states and two countries!
10th grader Ella Rose made it to the finals in original oratory and has qualified for the National Tournament of Champions, to be held at the University of Kentucky this April. Ella is the first New Roads student to achieve this honor.
10th grader Nolan Windham and 9th grader Ben Wasson reached the semifinals in parliamentary debate. They scored a great victory in the sixth round, defeating the number one ranked team in the nation in order to qualify for the elimination rounds, debating the topic of crypto-currency regulations. After defeating another team in the quarter-finals, advocating carbon taxes to combat global warming, Ben and Nolan lost to the number two ranked team in the nation, debating regulation of concealed handguns.
10th grader Sean Grey and 9th grader Kiran Baez competed admirably as well. Our parliamentary debaters took on the issues of free speech in college, privately funded space exploration, the effectiveness of the United Nations, US foreign policy toward North Korea, and the conflict between state and federal drug laws. All topics were debated extemporaneously, with just twenty minutes of preparation.
Meanwhile, 9th grader Mihret Melaku won the first place top speaker gavel in Novice Lincoln Douglas debate, another tremendous victory. After winning six consecutive debates against Harvard Westlake, Loyola and other schools, Mihret proceeded to the quarter finals before elimination. The Lincoln Douglas topic was the abolition of plea bargaining.
Go Jags!
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10th grader Ella Rose made it to the finals in original oratory and has qualified for the National Tournament of Champions, to be held at the University of Kentucky this April. Ella is the first New Roads student to achieve this honor.
10th grader Nolan Windham and 9th grader Ben Wasson reached the semifinals in parliamentary debate. They scored a great victory in the sixth round, defeating the number one ranked team in the nation in order to qualify for the elimination rounds, debating the topic of crypto-currency regulations. After defeating another team in the quarter-finals, advocating carbon taxes to combat global warming, Ben and Nolan lost to the number two ranked team in the nation, debating regulation of concealed handguns.
10th grader Sean Grey and 9th grader Kiran Baez competed admirably as well. Our parliamentary debaters took on the issues of free speech in college, privately funded space exploration, the effectiveness of the United Nations, US foreign policy toward North Korea, and the conflict between state and federal drug laws. All topics were debated extemporaneously, with just twenty minutes of preparation.
Meanwhile, 9th grader Mihret Melaku won the first place top speaker gavel in Novice Lincoln Douglas debate, another tremendous victory. After winning six consecutive debates against Harvard Westlake, Loyola and other schools, Mihret proceeded to the quarter finals before elimination. The Lincoln Douglas topic was the abolition of plea bargaining.
Go Jags!
New Roads School is a college preparatory K-12 private independent school in Santa Monica, CA, serving over 514 school age children from the greater Los Angeles area. New Roads School provides an inspired educational program from which an authentically diverse student population, mirroring the rich diversity of Los Angeles, develops a personal dedication to learning, a respect for independent thinking, and an expanding curiosity about the world and its people.
NOTICE OF NONDISCRIMINATORY POLICY AS TO STUDENTS New Roads School admits students of any race, color, national and ethnic origin to all the rights, privileges, programs, and activities generally accorded or made available to students at the school. It does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national and ethnic origin in administration of its educational policies, admissions policies, scholarship and loan programs, and athletic and other school-administered programs.