On November 23rd, Penn-Trafford’s Middle School gifted students competed at the Great Debate, a regional competition hosted by Greater Latrobe Junior High. Students were given debate topics to research in advance of the competition. They competed in pairs against students from local districts including Greensburg Salem, Franklin Regional, and Greater Latrobe. Penn-Trafford teams fared very well in their matches.
Caeley Simon (grade 8) and Adithri Pingali (grade 8) took first place in their debate on the topic “The US Federal government should substantially increase its protection of the wetlands in the US.”
Riley Joyce (grade 7) and Adithri Pingali (grade 8) took first place in their debate on the topic “On balance, the benefits of creating the US Space Force outweigh the harms.”
Carter Blasi (grade 7) and Grady Swartz (grade 6) took first place in their debate on the topic “On balance, charter schools are beneficial to the quality of education in the United States.”
The team of Alex Serapiglia and Chloe Yun took a very close second place, losing their match by only 1 point.
The Penn-Trafford students were coached by their teacher, Dr. Lynn Eckberg.