Speech and Debate has been a returning club at SHS since 2020. They meet every Monday after school. Students use different debate topics to practice skills like public speaking, communication, confidence, and critical thinking. Club members use informational slideshows to teach different lessons, and then practice using a variety of fun activities. A popular activity is practicing avoiding filler words when speaking. To do this, the students throw paper balls at the speaker every time they use a filler word or pause for too long. Club members are encouraged to sign up for official speech and debate competitions through the National Speech and Debate Association, which allows students to use the skills they have practiced in a realistic setting. One of the senior Speech and Debate presidents, Natalie Meyers, 12, encourages people to join and stated, “I have always loved public speaking, I think it’s such an important skill to learn, so being able to take something I enjoy and share it with my peers is very special to me.” Speech and Debate club has built an amazing community and is full of critical thinkers and confident speakers.
