Harvard Debate Tournament
We wish to strongly congratulate our SMS Debate Team who took part in the Harvard Debate Tournament that took place from February 12th to the 15th in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
The students who formed part of the SMS delegation in this tournament were Maria Camelia Ureña, Christina García, Daniela Ariza, Giulio Ferrari, Máximo Beras-Goico, Jeannette Llaneza, Eduardo Fernández, Alexander López, Maria Elisa Lama, Luis Tejeda, Maria Polanco, Eduardo García, Maria Fiallo, and Verónica Hernández.
The SMS delegation, together with Prof. Reinaldo Martinez and a group of accompanying parents, arrived in Cambridge on Thursday under the customary Boston weather conditions of cold and snow. Our students spent the entire day at the Royal Sonesta Hotel working on their material and spending some leisure time with other participating Dominican schools and also with the Chinese delegation. Friday came and at 7:00 a.m. they were all on the bus bound to Harvard, with loads of enthusiasm and great expectations. On that day each team had three debates with various international teams from China, India, Korea, and United States. For all our students this first day was the ice breaker and helped them to gain confidence. That evening they all continued to work and review back at the hotel, in order to be prepared for the next rounds of the following day.
On Saturday the SMS delegation was back at Harvard and throughout the day our students had to face three more rounds before qualifying to the next stage of the competition. Although none of our teams were able to pass this point, they all stayed on and attended the Varsity debate category, which it was the highest category in the tournament, and a tremendous example of debating at its finest.
This was an amazing learning experience for our students, as they further developed their abilities in critical thinking, oratory, and public speaking. Also, it was a great occasion for them to be able to interact with other delegations from different Dominican schools such as St. George, New Horizons, and the Ashton School.
Again, our congratulations to our SMS delegation! It was an incredible educational opportunity filled with hard work, a great deal of effort, strong determination, and impeccable behavior.