Ethics Olympiad
Is sharing your Netflix password with a friend, stealing?
What is the difference between an obligation and a responsibility?
Is the betterment of society as a whole, more important than the life of the individual?
Imagine a competition where questions like these, questions with several alternative solutions, all with challenging and problematic aspects, are proposed and you have three minutes to structure a competitive presentation that persuades a judging panel that your perspective is the most logical and insightful approach to solving a significant ethical dilemma.
Our middle school students demonstrated incredible grit and tenacity yesterday, working in teams of five to present their collaborative proposals to a global panel of high-profile judges at the Middle School Ethics Olympiad. From Harvard, New York to Cambridge, England, the judges engaged the teams in post presentation Q&As to enable students to examine complex ideas, to determine the validity of possible creative solutions.
Our teams stayed calm and answered each question thoughtfully and collaboratively, showing significant ability to evaluate information and arguments, quickly and succinctly.
Our teams demonstrated an outstanding ability to work collaboratively across different year groups, ensuring the maximisation of their individual character strengths to complement their overall team dynamics.
Waverley Orange Team
On the Waverley Orange Team, Henry Goldrich demonstrated significant leadership qualities to guide group discussion and express innovative ideas and solutions. Lachlan Chalmers knew how to keep his cool under pressure, providing logical and insightful ideas to lead the team’s approach. Alexander Avdalis complemented his team as a mighty public speaker, shaping the team’s argument and leading the presentation to ensure clarity and impact.
As senior members of the team, Dominic Scholfield and Zoltahn Szabo lead with confidence. Dominic’s mature approach to the cases revealed his nuanced understanding of the complexity of ethics, and Zoltahn could be relied upon to conclude the Team’s presentation with energy and charisma.
Evan Service was called up as a reserve on the day and did not disappoint; this piano virtuoso juggled music rehearsals and Olympiad responsibilities to cement his place on the team as a creative and critical thinker, whose insight and public speaking skills rendered him invaluable to the Team’s success.
Waverley Red Team
Talent was equally high on our Waverley Red Team. Kayden Barker and Yannick Hott cemented themselves as dynamic school leaders, turning ideas into action with empathy and integrity. Isaac Occhiuto led the team’s presentations with his skilful introductory capabilities setting the tone for the Team’s outstanding visions.
In a competition that relies on cognitive recall, Leo Owen’s broad general knowledge informed the perspective of the team, and ensured the validity of their well-informed argument against other competitive teams.
Toby Johnson’s ability to wrap up the Team’s argument became an iconic consolidation of the Team’s vision, leaving a lasting impression on the judges of Waverley’s grit and tenacity.
The collaboration of the students is to be commended, working interdependently as strong teams. They were a credit to the College, receiving praise from the judges for their teamwork and maturity.
It takes a village to ensure wonderful opportunities like this, run smoothly. Our thanks to Ms Lauren Ryan, for her precise administration coordination, Ms Nina Kormanyos and the canteen team, for providing the students with a delicious morning tea and lunch, and the magnificent Mr Bill Roberts for co-leading and coaching the Red Team.
2023 is set to be a promising year for our Waverley Ethletes!
