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The Saline Area Schools Middle and High School Speech teams have had an outstanding 2021 season and celebrated their solid performances at the Saline Debate Team Awards Night on January 19, 2022. The teams are led by Ms. Shelly Venema, SHS Debate Head Coach, who is now in her 10th
year of coaching. Ms. Venema is assisted by staff members Mrs. Laura Engelhuber (SMS), Ms. Kennedy Willett (Asst. SHS) and Ms. Linda Badri. Additional assistance is provided by Alex Shoflick and Daniel Chayes, from the University of Michigan. There are 16 students on the SMS Debate team and 27 students on the SHS Debate team. These students compete in two categories: Public Forum and Congress at the Novice and Varsity levels and are done virtually using Zoom.
Students who compete in Public Forum (PF) need to be able to work well with a partner. Balanced teams, both in terms of preparation before debates and contributions within a debate, helps provide a competitive advantage during tournaments. PF is the newest form of debate in the Association and looks at current even topics. Students who do PF must be prepared to debate in front of judges without any formal debate training. Being able to persuade a range of judges is a central component to this event. Additionally, PF is focused upon debating varying resolutions that change frequently, which exposes students to a variety of topics during a singular competitive season. Public Form teams can win debate rounds, proceed to quarterfinals then finals. In addition, speaker awards are given based on a point system to individual speakers. The two topics for this season’s tournaments were:
Congressional Debate is a mock legislative assembly competition where students’ draft bills (proposed laws) and resolutions (position statements), which they and their peers later debate and vote to pass into law. While coaches aren’t always required to submit legislation to meets, it gives their students the right to an authorship speech, introducing the bill or resolution to the chamber. In advance of the meet, a docket of submitted titles or full legislative text are distributed to participating schools, so students may research and prepare themselves for the debate.
These teams have participated in these tournaments so far this season, resulting in these awards:
Varsity Awards:
Novice Awards (SHS):
Saline Middle School – students competed in Public Forum Debate
Upcoming events for SHS teams include:
"Debate has evolved into a wonderful family that I'm so proud to be a part of. I have thoroughly enjoyed working with everyone this season and seeing the growth of every debater, both in their skills and character," said team member Anna Healy, who gave the student speech at the Team Awards Banquet. Healy also shared a fun memory: “during state finals, the host of the awards ceremony was muted on the Zoom call, but everyone thought that my computer was broken, so people were yelling and pressing buttons. It was very chaotic, but looking back, it was hilarious.”
Other fun season memories –
"Three things come to mind when thinking about the team and the class. 1. Debate is a unique activity because it requires communication, collaboration, critical thinking, and creativity. 2. Students have told me that they did not know what they were capable of until they gave it a try. 3. I am really honored to be a part of that and of a school who supports it," said Shelly Venema, SHS Head Coach.
“It was fun working with these students and snacks were also a highlight at every meeting – food must fuel great debaters,” shared Mrs. Laura Engelhuber, SMS Head Coach.
The Debate team met on Tuesdays and Fridays in the first half of the year. Individuals continuing to compete will meet as needed in preparation for the upcoming competitions. Debate is a fun, engaging and collaborative group digging into today’s Hot Topics!
High School Team Members:
Middle School Team Members:
Does Debate sound like something intriguing to you? SHS has both Debate and Advanced Debate classes in the first trimester and Public Speaking class in the third trimester, both of which fulfill an English elective (two are needed). These are great options as SHS students consider their 2022-2023 course schedule! Please see Ms. Shelly Venema with any questions that you may have.
About the National Speech & Debate Association
The National Speech & Debate Association was created in 1925 to provide recognition and support for students participating in speech and debate activities. While our organization has evolved over the decades, our mission is more relevant today than ever before. We connect, support and inspire a diverse community committed to empowering students through competitive speech and debate. To learn more, please visit https://www.speechanddebate.org/
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