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Welcome Spring!

April 2022

As we warmly welcome spring and look forward to summer, I would like to take a moment to inform you of some upcoming changes to our administrative team.

I will be taking maternity leave in mid-April and I'm happy to announce that Kehan Fu will be stepping in as interim-Executive Director while I'm away on maternity leave. A more complete introduction to Kehan will be made in upcoming newsletters.

To accommodate the transition, the office will be operating on reduced hours in April and May. These changes will be clearly communicated to everyone to avoid any communication backlogs.

I am excited for everything that is in store for SEDA's upcoming season. I have every confidence in our staff to continue to provide excellent and enjoyable programming for our members.

Thank you for your continued support of SEDA.

Fiseko Musonda

Executive Director

Office Hours Update

The office will be working reduced hours in April & May. The office will be open from 9:00 AM to 2:00 PM Monday to Friday.

Spotlight on Students

"The 2022 SEDA Provincials was one of the best ways to end this season. As this was my first year in SEDA, I didn’t know much about debating, but now I have a full sense of what it is and how to do it. The provincials also taught all the people who attended about intellectual property and patent restriction[s] [that] being what the motions were on. The tournament was two days of debate, which was interesting. One day with prepared rounds and one with impromptu. The impromptu topics were also great, with how girls and boys should have mixed teams and how each school should teach at least one Indigenous language. This helps children think critically, which is what SEDA is about."

Fayaaz K., Grade 6

Speech Tournament

The second speech competition of the season was held Mar. 26, 2022

Competitors presented a persuasive speech and an interpretative reading. The top three students in each division then moved on to the impromptu speaking finals.

Persuasive speeches chosen and prepared ahead of time by the speakers. Some persuasive speech topics included:

The death penalty
Universal language
Youth mental health
Littering
Phone addiction
Removal of Sir John A. MacDonald statue in Regina
Climate Change
Banning industrial fishing

Each student in the impromptu speech final was given a choice of three topics. Topics chosen included:

Time travel
Hard work is more important than talent
Paying children for chores
Greatest invention of all time (The speaker chose indoor plumbing)
My hero

The Results

Beginner Speakers

Tenley M., Saskatoon Home Educated Debaters
Hebah F., Regina Huda School
Youran Z., Chief Whitecap School

Intermediate Speakers

Peyton M., Saskatoon Home Educated Debaters
Nuha P.,Colette Bourgonje School
Noraay I., Chief Whitecap School

National Debating Seminar

Annually, the Canadian Student Debating Federation holds the National Debating Seminar. The seminar exposes students in grades 9 to 12 to the art of debating, while providing an opportunity for cultural exchange between young people from across the country.

National Seminar is about educational and non-competitive debate. Delegates attend debate and thematic workshops, debate in practice rounds critiqued by experienced coaches, and wrap it up with a fun tournament.

C.S.D.F. embraces both of Canada’s official languages, offering students the opportunity to attend the Seminar as English, French or Bilingual delegates.

The 2022 National Debating Seminar will be hosted virtually by the Prince Edward Island Student Debating Association from Sept. 21 to 26 2022.

Learn More & Apply

Summer Speech and Debate Camp

We are excited to host our Speech and Debate Camp this summer.

In previous years, we have run week long in-person camps in Saskatoon and Regina, and two-week virtual camps open to students across the province. We are hard at work finalizing the 2022 iteration of this summer program.

We will announce details about the camp in May in our newsletter, on our website, and on social media.

We hope to see you there!

Summer Job Opportunities

We're hiring in May!

We will be advertising for summer job opportunities in May. Our Camp Instructor positions will be term positions of 2 - 3 weeks. We may also have longer term positions available once funding has been confirmed.

The jobs will be advertised in our newsletter, social media platforms as well as job bank websites.

National and International Debate

We would like to thank the following volunteers who are coaching debaters that will be attending national and international debate competitions this spring.

Rafay Ahmed, Anwyn Diakuw, Daniel Ha, Wendy James, Andy Luu, Jennifer Peak, Bridget Salamon, Victor Wu, and Gideon Weisman

The Senior High National Championship will be held online Apr. 29 to May 1, 2022. Three Saskatchewan teams will be attending

Rafay A. & Muhammad M., Walter Murray Collegiate & Campbell Collegiate
Will S. & Rohan N., Centennial Collegiate
Isabelle M. & Sahasro B., Bedford Road Collegiate

Congratulations and Good Luck!

The Junior High National Championship is open to students in grades 7 to 9 and will be held in late May. We are still waiting on details from the national organizers. Qualified teams will be notified once we have more information.

Board News

We would like to express gratitude to Caroline Smith for five years of committed service to the SEDA board as she steps down from her role as board treasurer.

The board held a vote in February to appoint Brady Knight as Treasurer of the Board. We wish Brady all the best in his new role.

The Saskatchewan Elocution and Debate Association is a non-profit organization that helps children and youth be effective communicators, deep thinkers, and engaged community members.

info@saskdebate.com

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