Country Day School debating team celebrates banner year

June 4, 2013 · 0 Comments

Country Day School (CDS) debaters have excelled on the public speaking circuit this year as they competed across the country and the world.
Starting with the International Independent Schools’ Public Speaking Competition (IISPSC), held in Calgary last October, Grade 9 student Natalie Ganzhorn qualified for the World Individual Public Speaking Championships. Time and again, CDS debaters stood out.
The season culminated with Natalie capturing the coveted national title for the second year in a row at the Canadian National Junior High Public Speaking Championships held in Calgary recently.
Fortunately, the CDS team is not losing any students this year. They will all be back next year to host and compete in the IISPSC (International Independent Schools’ Public Speaking Competition) Oct. 17-20 at the Kingbridge Centre in King City. The school is expecting to host more than 150 students from upward of 50 schools from around the world. For more details or to volunteer to be a judge, visit www.cds.on.ca/iispsc.
Here are some highlights from the last few competitions:
While the majority of students were taking a well-earned rest over the March Break, Natalie Ganzhorn, 14, travelled to compete in the World Individual Public Speaking Championships in Durban, South Africa.
Natalie competed against 130 students from around the world, in four categories: Parliamentary Debate, Persuasive Speaking, Impromptu Speaking, and Interpretive Reading. With her impressive top 30 finish, Natalie was the top speaker under 15 at the event.
At the Nora McCrae Public Speaking Competition, held at Branksome Hall April 28, more than 100 students from all over Ontario took part in three events each to earn top honours.
In the senior category, Lukas Weese (Grade 11) finished in 2nd place in After-Dinner Speaking and in 3rd place in Impromptu Speaking. Jai Singh (Grade 11) finished 1st in Dramatic Interpretation, 1st in Impromptu Speaking, and 3rd in Declamation, leading to his impressive 1st place finish overall.
In the junior division, Olivia Railton (Grade 8) took 1st place in Dramatic Interpretation, Natalie Ganzhorn (Grade 9) finished in 3rd place in the same event and was 1st in Impromptu Speaking. This meant that the girls finished in 3rd and 4th respectively overall in the competition.
Finally, Natalie Ganzhorn and Olivia Railton also qualified to represent Ontario at the Canadian National Junior High Public Speaking Championships held at Webber Academy in Calgary from May 3-6. The top 60 students from across the country competed in four events. Olivia Railton was a finalist in Dramatic Interpretation and Impromptu Speaking and finished in 5th place overall. Natalie was the National Champion in Impromptu Speaking and Interpretive Reading, and she finished in 2nd place in Dramatic Interpretation, and was a finalist in Persuasive Speaking.
These fantastic results meant that Natalie was the overall winner of the entire competition, and she won the coveted national title for the second year in a row.