MGC Teams Win Awards at the World Scholar's Cup in Christchurch and qualify for the upcoming global rounds.

Twenty-two MGC students competed in the World Scholar's Cup Regional event in Christchurch on May 10- 11 at Avonside Girls' High School. MGC students were warmly greeted by their sister school on Friday night with a potluck and trivia night to meet other competitors and reconnect with teams from last year. 

This regional event included teams from across the South Island competing in debating, collaborative writing, general knowledge, and problem-solving events. The students worked in teams of three to compete for team and individual points. 

Two students from MGC were recognised at the Debate Showcase, which is held on stage in front of all the other students and their  whānau. The best debaters were selected by judges due to their talents in communicating convincing arguments which involves having a commanding presence, persuasive language, and organising the argument. Nova Bino was chosen as a top debate student to judge. Elizabeth Habershon was selected to be in the team of four to argue for the opposing team on the debate topic "The government should build a second Christchurch called Christchurch II." Elizabeth was the first debater for the negative team and spoke eloquently. The negative team ultimately won the debate with convincing arguments about preserving the history and cultural importance of Christchurch.

The team of Freya McHale, Ava-Rose Lang, and Elizabeth Habershon earned a trophy for the top Junior debate team in the South Island region. Elizabeth Habershon was also awarded the top individual debater in the junior division. Both of these honours are remarkable, as they are year 9 students who are new to debating.

The following teams were awarded multiple silver or gold medals for their efforts. Their mahi allowed them to qualify for a global round to compete against some of the best teams worldwide. One of the locations for this international competition will happen for the first time in Christchurch this year in September. The following are the teams from MGC that qualified:

Jr Team 154 - Freya McHale, Ava-Rose Lang, Elizabeth Habershon 

Jr Team 108 - Milla Boardman, Laila Balasoglou, Danniella Clarke 

Sr Team 129 - Violet McQuillan (Avonside), Shannon Bradford (Avonside), Maisie Tinker 

Sr Team 151 - Shanaya McElhinney, Neve Smith, Emily Preece 

Sr Team 152 - Kexin Liu, Miranda Rae, Dana Narvadez 

Sr Team 153 - Aimee Stewart, Nova Bino, Emma Straker 

Sr Team 155 - Lavnya Singh, Eliza Tapuelulu, Jade Verunque 

Sr Team 156 - Emily Mason, Ava Wilson, Ava Petersen

Thank you to the parent volunteers who assisted in the trip, the Pelorus Trust for their financial contributions, and all the people who helped the team fundraise for the trip's cost. This trip is part of the GATe programme at MGC.