Featured Story
Students vs. Faculty Debates
From Debate Coaches Abby Bielski and Beth Yavenditti:
On Thursday, St. Luke’s six qualifiers for the Connecticut Debate State Championship faced stiff competition—our faculty! Senior Debate Co-Captain Alex Levy and Bilal Memnon were matched against Dr. Jason Haynes and Dr. Stephanie Bramlett showing poise, quick-thinking, and outstanding logic. Though our volunteer judge, Bruce Strothenke called the debate a draw, Haynes stated, "Alex and Bilal did a fantastic job of undermining the logical underpinnings of our argument.” Haynes continued, “By my closing argument I was reduced to raising my voice and repeating myself. I felt a little like a politician." Senior Debate Co-Captain Eliza Posner and Chloe Kekedjian matched Dr. Hunter Martin and Matt Bavone point for point and ultimately, and narrowly, emerged victorious. According to the judge Abby Bielski, "The students' immense background knowledge concerning the Kurds, ISIS, and Middle Eastern politics in general impressed us all. I bet their elective Violent Politics has been invaluable to their understanding of such a complex situation." Both student teams affirmed the resolution The United States should send aid to the Peshmerga in their fight against ISIS.
Freshman duo Hunter Conetta and Andres Falcon eagerly stepped to Dr. John Higgins and Ross James. Putting their best foot forward, this novice team clearly articulated their contentions and systematically destroyed the English and Science faculty representatives. The students negated the resolution Supreme Court Justices should no longer be appointed for life.
A special thank you goes out to all the faculty—Matt Bavone, Dr. Stephanie Bramlett, Dr. Jason Haynes, Dr. John Higgins, Ross James, Dr. Hunter Martin and Bruce Strothenke for their time and effort to help our team prep for States!
St. Luke’s School is a secular (non-religious), private school in New Canaan, CT for grades 5 through 12 serving over 40 towns in Connecticut and New York. Our exceptional academics and diverse co-educational community foster students’ intellectual and ethical development and prepare them for top colleges. St. Luke’s Leading with Humanity curriculum builds the commitment to serve and the confidence to lead.
