(L-R) – Eleuthera District Supt. Education, Mrs. Helen Simmons-Johnson, Kayla Kemp, Safyha Bryan, Wallecia Allen and Teacher/Coach, Doria Scavella.
(Eleuthera, Bahamas) – Central Eleuthera High School’s (CEHS) three member debate team of Safyha Bryan, Kayla Kemp and Wallecia Allen, regained the win in the Eleuthera District Debate Championship Finals, held at the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology’s Resource Center in Savannah Sound on Tuesday, November 17th, 2015.
2013 had seen the CEHS team relinquish the winning title to Preston Albury High School (PHAHS) in the District Finals, and they again bowed out in 2014, with the overall District win going to the team from the North Eleuthera High School (NEHS).
This year, the first round of District debate match-ups saw participation from all six high schools on Eleuthera held from Wednesday, October 28th through Friday, October 30th. Action began on the Wednesday, with PHAHS facing Harbour Island All Age (HIAAS).
CEHS tussled with NEHS on the Thursday, and Windermere High School (WHS) took on Samuel Guy Pinder All Age (SGPAA) on the Friday. The top three teams would go on to the semifinal round, joined by the losing team with the highest points – to round out the four semi-finalist teams. NEHS, PHAHS, and SGPAA were the three winning teams in the semi-finals, with CEHS just scraping through as the losing team with the highest points. Topics debated in the first round included, cell phone use on school property; adjusting the school week to accommodate mandatory job training days; and the pros and cons of social media.
On November 6th, the semi-final rounds were hosted at the Resource Center with PHAHS debating NEHS on the topic of the government limiting the number of children that couples in the Bahamas can have, followed by CEHS debating SGPAA on whether students should be allowed to strike. The two teams left standing after the semi-finals were NEHS and CEHS.
During the District Debate Championship Finals on Tuesday, “The death penalty cruel or unusual punishment or the right punishment”, the moot chosen for the final debate round, was proposed by CEHS and opposed by NEHS.
The two top teams battled it out with three rounds of debate, followed by rebuttals, and when the dust finally settled, judges had awarded NEHS with 1,179 overall points, and CEHS with 1,254 points, deciding the 2015 Eleuthera District debate team. Safyha Bryan was awarded as the best speaker during the Championship Finals round. CEHS will now go on to compete in the National Debate Competition, representing the Eleutheras, beginning with round one of debate competition in January 2016.
Winning CEHS team and the team from the Samuel Guy Pinder All Age in Spanish Wells.
Second place NEHS team with the winning CEHS team.
