ABOUT OUR PROGRAM

Our Speech and Debate program is growing fast — next year we’ll have 20 students and attend about 15 tournaments, plus one Northeast travel invitational, such as the Yale Invitational. We’re asking for approval to run a community showcase fundraiser, featuring a mock debate and a raise-the-paddle donation segment. The funds will cover hospitality for meetings and competitions, tournament registrations, materials, and travel, so every student can participate fully regardless of their background. This event will not only raise money, but also connect our students with middle schoolers and community supporters, showing the lasting academic and confidence-building impact of Speech and Debate.

ABOUT THE EVENT

The Speech and Debate Team will host an in-person community showcase at the MERHS Auditorium on Wednesday, June 10 from 6pm -8pm, open to families, community members, and particularly middle and high school students. The evening will feature a student-led mock debate, a “raise-the-paddle” live donation segment, and light refreshments. Online donations to the Debate Fund will also be accepted for supporters unable to attend in person. This event not only raises funds for our growing team, but also demonstrates the lasting academic, social, and confidence-building impact of Speech and Debate to our students and the wider community.

HOW WE WILL USE YOUR FUNDS

Funds will support Speech and Debate program growth as we expand to 20 students and attend approximately 15 tournaments. Projected needs include hospitality and food for meetings and competitions ($5,000), tournament registration fees ($2,400), materials/resources for preparation ($400), and travel for one Northeast invitational tournament ($3,400) for 6–8 experienced students. These investments ensure all students can fully participate, strengthen our competitive presence at both local and regional levels, and allow us to showcase excellence in competitions and community events. This covers hospitality and food for team meetings and competitions, tournament registrations, materials/resources, and travel to a Northeast invitational tournament, with a small contingency for unexpected costs.

SEASON SUMMARY

Summary of Activities

Active members: 15, more than double last year's participation
Tournaments attended to date: 13 within our region
Regular engagement: 30+ in person; 7 online office hours - meetings / practice time approximately 70+ hours
Interscholastic Scrimmage: 1
Judges: 11 members of the debate team community judged for us at least once this season.

TOURNAMENT RESULTS

Tim Averill Online Tournament - 4 teams competed; 1 team qualified for states and received medals
Natick Tournament - 4 teams competed; 2 teams had winning records and received ribbons of recognition
Lexington Tournament - 4 teams competed; 1 additional team qualified for states
Lincoln Sudbury - 5 teams competed
HollyFest at Natick High School - 6 teams competed; Rosie Renehan and Annabelle Kerivan finished 8th overall and the following students received speaker awards for their outstanding performance, Stella Langille – 2nd place, Annabelle Kerivan – 3rd place, Lily Berkowitz – 8th place
Newton South Winter Festival – 4 teams competed
Big Lex at Lexington, a two-day tournament - 3 teams competed
NSDA National Qualifiers at Concord-Carlisle, a two-day tournament - 3 teams competed
NCFL National Qualifiers at Shrewsbury- 3 teams competed in public forum, 1 student participated in the speech category of Declamation
Scrimmage against Waring School - several teams participated in an interscholastic scrimmage organized to prepare teams for our February competitions. We held this event at our school and it was wonderful! Tim Averill joined us and provided some useful guidance for our students
Harvard National Tournament - 3 teams competed in a public forum, all had impressive records, each team winning 2+ debates out of 5 in the most competitive event of the season. 1 student participated in the Speech event, Impromptu Speaking.
Brookline Ball at Brookline High School - 5 teams competed in public forum, 2 teams qualified for states with 4-1 records, other teams had strong showing.
March Merryness at Needham High School - 5 teams competed in public forum
MSDL State Debate Tournament (hybrid) online & Chelmsford High School — 4 teams qualified and participated. 1 team continued through to Octocs, finishing 14th overall among the largest field ever of 98 teams. 3 other teams competed with impressive results for our new team.

Throughout the season, students received awards for both their speaking skills and for their records at tournaments. This is a great demonstration of our team's long term capabilities.

IN THE NEWS

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2026 MERHS Speech and Debate Team Mock-Debate Fundraiser - June 10 6-8pm at MERHS Auditorium