ANDREW PARKINSON
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Arguing is usually frowned upon in the classroom.
But not at St Paul’s Primary School, Rutherford.
St Paul’s debating team was crowned Maitland-Newcastle Diocese champions after they took out the inter-school debating competition final at All Saints College, St Mary’s Campus, Maitland on Wednesday.
St Paul’s defeated Holy Name Primary School, Forster, after their team of Josephine Callinan, Jake Hedges, Isabella Crebert and Grace Connell argued successfully in the affirmative that “the spoken word is more powerful than the written word”.
More than 40 catholic primary schools entered the competition with St Paul’s defending the Maitland cluster title it won in 2012 before advancing to the final.
St Paul’s debating co-ordinator Julie Nepia said both the school’s teams showed exceptional ability at public speaking.
“Our students based their argument on how the spoken word connects with a person’s emotions and how people communicate through facial expression and intonation,” she said. “The kids from Forster were excellent as well and they spoke more about social networking and social media through the written word.
“Both teams were very impressive and it was great to watch some very talented kids.”
The Maitland-Newcastle Diocese final is as far as St Paul’s can progress in debating competition, with no state or national challenges available.