Bishop O'Dowd High School

  • Summer Academy
Notice: Please configure GTranslate from WP-Admin -> Settings -> GTranslate to see it in action.
Menu
  • Commencement Stream
  • About
    • Close
      • Welcome Letter
      • Faculty & Staff Directory
      • Getting Here
      • Fast Facts
      • Publications and News
      • Campus Development
      • The O’Dowd Student
      • Employment
      • History
      • Board of Regents
    • Close
  • Values
    • Close
    • Our Mission & Charism
    • Close
  • Academics
    • Close
      • Course Catalog Download
      • Inside the Classroom
        • Departments
        • Advanced Academics
          • CSF
        • Environmental Education
        • Book Program
      • Outside the Classroom
        • Service Learning
        • Living Lab – Beyond The Classroom
        • Educational Travel
        • Summer Work
      • Technology
        • About 1:1 Laptop Program
        • Tech Check
        • STEAM
        • FAQs
      • Library & Research Tools
      • Summer Academy – Middle School and High School
      • Supporting Our Students
        • Counseling
        • Counseling for College and Beyond
        • Learning Disabilities & ADHD Services
        • Academic Support
      • Forms and Downloads
    • Close
  • Campus Life
    • Close
      • Performance
        • Drama
        • Band
        • Band Blog
      • Academic Programs
        • Debate Team
        • Mock Trial
        • Student Publications
      • Faith & Justice
        • Service Learning
        • Campus Ministry
        • Retreats
      • Environmental Programs
        • Living Lab and Center for Environmental Studies
        • Commitment to Sustainability
      • Clubs
      • Leadership Development
        incl. ASB:Student Government, Campus Ministry, Dragon Ambassadors, Eco Leaders, Health & Wellness, Peer Tutors, Solidarity in Action, SALT:Student-Athletes
    • Close
  • Athletics
    • Close
      • Advanced Athletics
      • Watch Live
      • Summer Sports Camp
      • Register to Play
      • Team Apparel Store TBD
      • Teams & Schedules
      • View All Games
      • Buy Event Tickets
      • Buy Dragon Season Pass
      • Coaches & Staff Directory
      • Student-Athlete Support
        • Concussion Management
        • College Recruiting
    • Men’s Athletics
        • Baseball
        • Schedules
        • Rosters
        • Basketball
        • Schedules
        • Rosters
        • Cross Country
        • Schedules
        • Rosters
        • Football
        • Schedules
        • Rosters
        • Golf
        • Schedules
        • Rosters
        • Lacrosse
        • Schedules
        • Rosters
        • Rugby
        • Schedules
        • Rosters
        • Soccer
        • Schedules
        • Rosters
        • Swimming
        • Schedules
        • Rosters
        • Tennis
        • Schedules
        • Rosters
        • Track & Field
        • Schedules
        • Rosters
        • Volleyball
        • Schedules
        • Rosters
        • Water Polo
        • Schedules
        • Rosters
        • eSports
    • Women’s Athletics
        • Basketball
        • Schedules
        • Rosters
        • Cross Country
        • Schedules
        • Rosters
        • Golf
        • Schedules
        • Rosters
        • Lacrosse
        • Schedules
        • Rosters
        • Rugby
        • Schedules
        • Rosters
        • Softball
        • Schedules
        • Rosters
        • Soccer
        • Schedules
        • Rosters
        • Swimming
        • Schedules
        • Rosters
        • Tennis
        • Schedules
        • Rosters
        • Track & Field
        • Schedules
        • Rosters
        • Volleyball
        • Schedules
        • Rosters
        • Water Polo
        • Schedules
        • Rosters
        • Cheerleading
        • Roster
        • eSports
    • Close
  • Admissions
    • Close
      • Why O’Dowd
        • You Belong Here
        • Student Profiles
        • Experience O’Dowd
        • College Acceptances
      • Visit Us
        • Admissions Events
      • The Admissions Process
        • Key Steps
        • Transfer Students
        • HSPT
      • Class of 2026
      • Tuition and Financial Aid
        • Parent Pledge
        • Scholarships
      • Staff
    • Close
  • Giving
    • Close
      • Donate Now
      • How to Give
        • Six Reasons to Give
        • Gift Planning
        • Other Ways to Give
        • Events
        • Matching Gifts
      • Cor Unum Campaign
      • Support O’Dowd
        • Financial Aid
        • Transforming Lives
        • Parent Pledge
        • Senior Gift Overview
        • Give to Senior Gift
        • Our Campus
      • Endowment & Scholarship Funds
        • Current Funds
        • Starting an Endowment Fund
      • Staff
    • Close
  • My O’Dowd
    • Close
    • Students & Parents
      • Quicklinks
      • Class of 2022
      • Respect, Consent, Safety
      • Safe Return
      • Dragon Den Store
      • Faculty and Staff Directory
      • Dragon Parents and Guardians
      • Amazon Shop to Give
    • Faculty & Staff
    • Alumni
      • Reunion Day
    • Close
  • Calendar
  • Search

Bishop O’Dowdhigh school

Bishop O’Dowdhigh school

Words of Wisdom from O’Dowd’s Debate Co-Captains

May 3, 2022 by Bishop O'Dowd

As senior debaters, Amy Jayasuriya and Sylvie Richards have learned a lot. I sat down with them to learn about their past experiences and words of wisdom.

By: Ariana Trammell ’24, student journalist and debate member

Amy Jayasuriya and Silvie Richards
Amy Jayasuriya and Silvie Richards

I caught up with debate co-captains, Amy Jayasuriya and Sylvie Richards, before they went to help teach novice practice. As a debater myself, I was excited to sit down and talk with them about their experiences during their time on O’Dowd’s debate team. A bitter-sweet conversation, we talked about the entirety of their debate careers, starting with their novice year and ending with what they’ll miss about O’Dowd debate while in college.

ARIANA TRAMMELL: What’s one thing you remember about your first year doing debate at O’Dowd?

SYLVIE RICHARDS: I remember our captain, Alden. She became my inspiration and mentor. She inspired me to use my voice for activism. She also inspired my vision for a positive debate community. She made me feel so loved and is the reason I have been debating for so long.

AMY JAYASURIYA: I remember that I was really shy in 9th grade, and Alden encouraged me to go to varsity practices during my time as a novice. After I joined, I found a lot of friends I really liked and they helped me to gain more confidence.

ARIANA TRAMMELL: What’s your favorite part about being on O’ Dowd’s Debate Team?

AMY JAYASURIYA: The community! I wouldn’t have gotten so close with people that share similar interests with me, like activism, if it wasn’t for the club. I also really like that I’ve been able to meet people from other schools that I would have never known through debate tournaments.

SYLVIE RICHARDS: For me it’s the community, too. The debate team has been a family I can go to, and that’s been a great escape for me throughout high school. My other favorite thing is knowing about current events and being able to participate in conversations with adults. It’s really important to know about current events because of my involvement in activism, and also just to be a well-rounded human being. Debate has forced me to know what’s going on, but now I love staying up to date on what’s happening in the world.

ARIANA TRAMMELL: What’s your favorite part about being on leadership?

AMY JAYASURIYA: I love teaching the novices. It helps me improve my debate skills, and it’s nice getting to know the 9th graders and get a chance to understand what they’re interested in.

SYLVIE RICHARDS: My favorite part is being able to teach and be a resource for anyone who is interested in debate. Watching people grow up as debaters and as people is so amazing, and being able to be a tiny part of that is something I’ve really benefited from.

ARIANA TRAMMELL What would you say to students who are interested in joining the Debate Team next year?

AMY JAYASURIYA: If you want to find people who share similar interests and create great friendships, debate is a great way to do that.  Also, if you’re interested in activism, debate helps you learn about different topics, whether it’s the environment or institutional racism. My knowledge has really expanded. It’s also helped me with my leadership skills and improved my confidence.

SYLVIE RICHARDS: Debate might seem like a competitive and hard activity where you have to be super smart and know everything (I mean, that’s what I thought!), but at O’Dowd it’s really community focused. Everyone surrounding you cares about you and is going to help you every step of the way. You leave debate with a ton of friends that become your family.

ARIANA TRAMMELL: How do you balance debate with school and other extracurriculars?

AMY JAYASURIYA: For school, debate and school overlap, especially for history and English classes. In terms of extracurriculars, I did tennis in 9th grade and I found it really easy to do a sport while debating. It eventually got to a point where I really got into debate and wanted to focus on that, so for people who are nervous about not being able to balance things, as a novice, the commitment level is really low. If you find that you love it, then it can be your main commitment.

Silvie Richards '22 leading the novice team in a community building tie-dying project
Silvie Richards ’22 leading the novice team in a community building tie-dying project

SYLVIE RICHARDS:  I’ve done debate along with a part-time job throughout all of high school, and like Amy, I’ve taken the hardest AP’s you can do. I’ve also done a lot of volunteering and worked with other organizations. So you really can do debate alongside other activities. Also, people balance sports with other activities, and even though debate isn’t a sport, the hours are similar. Also, the good thing about specifically Parliamentary debate (O’Dowd offers two forms of debate: Parliamentary and Public Forum) is that you don’t have to do much research, you just need to stay aware of what’s going on. I listen to an NPR podcast that only takes 15 minutes of my day. If you’re like me and Amy, you’re going to end up putting in more hours than you realize because you want to be there for the team.

ARIANA TRAMMELL: What will you miss most about debate when you go off to college?

AMY JAYASURIYA: Teaching the novices will be one of the things I miss the most. It gave me a lot of leadership skills and has helped me with public speaking, which I used to hate. The fact that I won’t be able to see what the novices will do during the rest of their debate career makes me extremely sad. I’ll definitely visit, but I won’t be able to see how they grow every practice.

SYLVIE RICHARDS: The debate community is my family and it feels like I’ll lose a part of myself when I leave. I’ll miss every single person, even the ones I don’t know super well. I’ll miss the adrenaline rush and dopamine I get with every competitive debate round. But it’s mostly the people I’ll miss. It’ll be really hard not to see people grow every step of the way.

Novice Debate Calendar 2019-2020

August 4, 2019 by Bishop O'Dowd

Click here for the novice practice and tournament schedule. Remember, everyone is welcome to compete on the novice debate squad, however attendance at Wednesday practices and the 1-day league tournaments is mandatory.

Novice Debater Parent/Guardian Information

July 20, 2019 by Bishop O'Dowd

Parents and Guardians, you can access the document here.

Public Forum Debaters Make A Statement in Santa Clara

April 1, 2019 by Bishop O'Dowd

Lola Deibert ’21 & Evian Jiang ’20

O’Dowd Debate’s Public Forum debaters Lola Deibert ’21 and Evian Jiang ’20 turned in a superb performance in advancing to the quarterfinal round at last weekend’s Santa Clara University Spring Invitational. The recently paired duo competed in an exceptionally strong 50-team varsity field and alternated between affirmative and negative each round on the March Public Forum topic “The United States should promote the development of market rate housing in urban neighborhoods.”

Lola and Evian defeated Saratoga, Leland, Mountain View, and Lynbrook high schools on their way to a 4-1 prelim record and the tournament’s #6 seed. In the 16-team single-elimination rounds, Lola and Evian bested Amador Valley High School on a 3-0 ballot in the octafinal round before dropping on a 2-1 split ballot to Lynbrook High School in quarters. Evian was ranked the tournament’s #12 individual debater in a field of 100, while Lola was ranked #18.

Meade Jacobsen ’20 and Milo Kuiper Rauch ’20 also put in a strong performance in Public Forum Debate. The pair, debating together only for the second time in the Public Forum format, put together a 3-2 winning record, just missing the cut to elimination rounds.

In Parliamentary Debate, Lucy Barretto ’21 and Connor Whitehill ’20, debating together for the first time and competing in a 100-team field, wrapped up their prelim round run with a 3-2 record and the #22 seed, but dropped in the double-octafinal round to Campolindo High School. In the novice Parliamentary Debate division, Sylvie Richards ’22 and Vashe Sundar ’21 turned in a terrific performance in compiling a 4-1 prelim round record in a 50-team field and securing the #4 seed. Sylvie and Vashe defeated Irvington High School in the octafinal round before dropping to a second Irvington team in quarters. Vashe was the division’s #8 ranked individual debater in a field of 100 with Sylvie ending the tournament ranked #10.

 

O’Dowd Debaters Qualify to State Tournament

March 6, 2019 by Bishop O'Dowd

The O’Dowd Parliamentary Debate duo of Sofia Odeste ’19 and Adam Stone ’20 concluded 14 hours of debate on March 2 at James Logan High School by qualifying for the California High School Championship Tournament to be held in May at CSU Long Beach. Adam and Sofia finished the four preliminary rounds with a 3-1 record and defeated Lowell High School in the tournament’s elimination round to advance. Alden O’Rafferty ’19 and Connor Whitehill ’20 finished the Parli prelims with a 3-1 record, but dropped in the elimination. Alden and Connor will be alternates to the state tournament.

O’Dowd Debate Shines at Stanford

February 12, 2019 by Bishop O'Dowd

Alden O’Rafferty, ’19 & Connor Whitehill, ’20.

The Bishop O’Dowd parliamentary debate duo of Alden O’Rafferty & Connor Whitehill put in a terrific semifinal run last weekend at the 2019 Stanford Debate Invitational, one of the nation’s largest and most prestigious speech and debate tournaments. Alden & Connor, competing in a varsity field of 122 teams drawn from around the nation, finished the preliminary rounds with a 5-1 record and received a bye into the tournament’s double-octofinal elimination round. In elims, Alden & Connor defeated the Nueva School in doubles, Menlo-Atherton High School in octos, and Global Prep Academy in the quarterfinal round. Alden & Connor’s run however would end in semis, dropping to Menlo-Atherton after affirming “California should repeal the Costa Hawkins Rental Housing Act.” Alden also finished the tournament individually ranked #8 out of the 244 varsity parliamentary debaters. Alden & Connor are currently ranked #6 in the National Parliamentary Debate League national rankings.

In addition to Alden & Connor, several other O’Dowd teams advanced to elimination rounds. The varsity parliamentary pairing of Meade Jacobsen, ’20 & Milo Kuiper Rauch, ’20 complete prelims with a 4-2 record and defeated Archbishop Mitty in the partial triple-octofinal round before falling to a second Mitty team in doubles. In JV Parliamentary Debate two teams advanced to elimination rounds. Debating in a field of 117 teams, Cordelia Kuiper Rauch, ’22 & Will Lecocq, ’22 ended prelims with a 3-2 record but dropped to Claremont High School in double-octos. Kayly Kassab, ’22 & Max Wilcoxson, ’21 tallied a 4-1 record in prelims and dropped Oaks Christian High School in doubles before dropping to Washington High School in octos.

O’Dowd Debate will be seeing its next action in two weeks at the Golden Gate Speech Association state qualifying tournament.

  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • Next Page »

Recent Posts

See full News Archive »

  • Chicago The Musical – Review

    May 10, 2022
  • Words of Wisdom from O’Dowd’s Debate Co-Captains

    May 3, 2022
  • O’Dowd Senior Creates Lasting Impact By Planting Trees

    April 4, 2022
  • Research in Montana: O’Dowd Students Partner with National Parks Service

    March 11, 2022
  • Gender Justice at O’Dowd

    March 10, 2022
  • #DragonPride is Ready to Call The O’Dowd Center Home

    February 10, 2022
  • The O’Dowd Library: Where Students Become Researchers

    January 31, 2022
  • Teacher Tech Tools Enhance Student Learning

    January 13, 2022
  • Dragons for Life – Student vs. Alumni Athletic Games

    January 11, 2022
  • Love Your Neighbor: Bounty Abounds In O’Dowd’s Living Lab

    January 10, 2022

Location & Contact Information

9500 Stearns Ave
Oakland, CA 94605
Phone: (510) 577-9100
Fax: (510) 638-3259
Attendance: email »

Finding God in All Things

Follow us to stay up to date

  • Site Map
  • Employment
  • Faculty & Staff Directory
  • Forms and Downloads
  • My O’Dowd
    • Students & Parents
    • Alumni Portal
    • Faculty & Staff