Jointly reported by:
Phang Kor Yee Jr1S(5)
Leah Leyi Beicht Jr1M(6)
Khoo Xin Yi Jr3Z(6)
From the 7th to 10th of June, Kuen Cheng English Debate Club’s committee organised an exchange camp for its members.
The camp kicked off at 2:30pm and ended at 6:00pm for the first day. Unfortunately, it was delayed for some time due to technical difficulties. The second and third days, however, started smoothly at 2:00pm sharp and ended at 5:30pm. In addition, debaters from Chong Hwa Independent High School, Kuala Lumpur and Chung Ling High School were also invited to participate in the camp.
On the first day, the camp started with an opening speech by Tham Yuanyi, the President of the English Debate Club. She also introduced the guest speakers for the day, namely Erica Boey, Yippie Yan and Victoria Lai, all of whom are alumni of Kuen Cheng High School and also enthusiastic supporters of the Club. After some short self-introductions, the motions of the day were released and two teams of debaters were put in breakout rooms to discuss.
While the teams were discussing, Erica spoke on her experiences as a debater in Taylor’s University, Victoria explained how debating had helped her step into the field of politics, and Yippie talked about how debate skills helped in his daily life.
Then, the debate started, with both teams passionately arguing based on the selected motion. As adjudicators for the round, the guest speakers gave feedback and criticism towards the debaters before the segment came to an end. After that, the Chinese division of the Debate Club joined the meeting for joint activities. The members played games such as Guess the Emoji Phrase, Draw & Guess, and Zoom Puzzle Piecing, in which groups worked together to complete a picture using their cameras. The day ended with a group picture.
Guess the Emoji Phrase
On the second day, the camp began with a welcome speech from the President to greet the students from Chung Ling High School. President of Chung Ling’s Debate Club, Sim Yang Ming, also presented a speech, thanking Kuen Cheng for providing them with this lovely opportunity to get to know and learn from each other.
Yuanyi then explained the rules and released the first set of motions. After that, the debaters entered their pre-assigned breakout rooms and started debating. All the participants put their best foot forward. After the adjudicators gave their verdicts and feedback, a second round of debates followed. The debaters received more constructive critiques from the adjudicators after the intense session.
Even though the event was a little rushed, the Presidents from both sides expressed that they were happy with the outcome in their closing speeches and thanked everyone for participating, ending the day on a positive note.
On the last day, Presidents Yuanyi and Chong Jin Wen from Chong Hwa Independent High School gave warm welcoming speeches before proceeding with a coaching session by Mr. Wesley Wong, who talked about the basics of debating, including analysing motions, rebuttals, speech structure and more.
Mr. Wesley Wong’s Achievements
