Fairmont Newsroom

Fairmont Students Shine at Regional Debate Competition

May 2008

ANAHEIM, CA – May 5, 2008 – Students from Fairmont Private Schools' Anaheim Hills, Edgewood and Preparatory campuses demonstrated the private school advantage recently, collecting team, individual and school awards at the Middle School Public Debate Program (MSPDP)'s National Championship, held at Claremont McKenna College on April 17. The weekend debate was one of five competitions that Fairmont students regularly participate in each year.

"When we created our debate program, the Fairmont Forensic Society, we envisioned a program made up of the best junior high school students from all three campuses," said Benjamin Hughes, Edgewood English and History teacher. "This is a great victory for all of Fairmont, one that makes us truly proud."

228 middle school students gathered from across the country at the Claremont, Calif. competition. Of the 76 three-member teams in attendance, 25 teams and 35 individual speakers received awards and trophies. Schools were also recognized.

Fairmont debaters were awarded the following honors: ! Fairmont Edgewood, Inland Valley Debate League (IVDL) First Place School ! Fairmont Edgewood PBT: Payal Patel, Ranvir Bajwa & Damini Trehan, 5th Place Team ! Fairmont Anaheim PRP: Ryan Phan, Joel Ryan & Divya Patil, 7th Place Team ! Fairmont Edgewood NFT: Nikhil Narang, Alex Fuertes & Kelly Tran, 21st Place Team ! Payal Patel, 3rd Place Individual ! Divya Patil, 5th Place Individual ! Joel Ryan, 15th Place Individual ! Damini Trehan, 21st Place Individual ! Alex Fuertes, 29th Place Individual ! Ranvir Bajwa, 35th Place Individual

Junior high students participating in Fairmont's debate co-curricular have the opportunity to practice and fine-tune their skills in verbal communication, critical thinking, researching, civility, organization and teamwork—lessons that are also taught in Fairmont's general curriculum.

Mr. Hughes explained, "Debate can be a great teaching tool across the curriculum. I have incorporated it as a regular activity in both my history and English classes, but with our wide range of topics, one can easily see debate principles incorporated in science, drama and even computer instruction."

For more information about Fairmont's Forensic Society, visit the student-generated Web site HYPERLINK http://www.fairmontforensicsociety.com www.fairmontforensicsociety.com. To learn more about admission to one of Fairmont's six campuses, visit HYPERLINK http://www.fairmontschools.com www.fairmontschools.com or contact the Edgewood Admissions Office at (714) 832-4867.