Debating has continued to flourish at Katikati College, with two junior teams and one senior team entering the regional debating competition hosted at Tauranga Boys' College.

This is our first entry in this year-long tournament, where our teams compete against all the other secondary schools in the Bay of Plenty, many of whom have been debating for decades. Our teams have got off to a great start. Our Senior A team was up against Tauranga Girls' College Number 1 in their first round and won. They successfully negated that 'As the world faces climate change, nuclear power is needed.' The top speaker for this debate was Madeleine Schnackenberg. Madeline was first speaker, with Stella Hamilton-Wallace as second speaker and Natalie Rochat as third. Our Year 9 A and Year 10 A teams also had a fantastic start to the regional competition debating 'That students should learn through real practical work in the community'. Our Year 9 A team comprising Lola Meeking-Coad, Skyla Hunter and Rory Robertson went up against Tauranga Girls' College Number 2 and lost narrowly. Skyla Hunter was a Speaker of Note. Our Year 10 A team also debated the same moot and won against Tauranga Boys' College A team. Grace Fotheringhame, Jess Harray and Caelan Cameron made up our regional Year 10 team. Speakers of Note for this debate were Grace Fotheringhame and Caelan Cameron. Next term our students will debate in a further two regional rounds. We look forward to updating you on their progress. Congratulations to all our representatives. We are very proud of your accomplishments this term.