MUNA 2015

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Report on Shore's three teams
Shore's three teams attended MUNA on Saturday & Sunday 16-17 May and did very well.
 
Japan (sponsored by Roseville Chase Rotary) came 2nd, while Kenya (sponsored by Crows Nest Rotary) was very unlucky not to be placed.

Two reports follow: one from a member of the Japan team, and the other from Fiona Reid who helped John Meakins with MUNA this year.

We have been invited to lunch at the school on Monday 20 July (12.30-2pm) in order to hear feedback from the boys about the weekend.

Fiona Reid reported:

MUNA 2015 started with a bang as the Japan boys waddled up Baulkham Hills High drive way in their inflated sumo wrestling suits. The students representing Japan were in the limelight from the start of the first debate, not just because of their size, but also because of their excellent public speaking skills. Although I do have to add that there were a number of puns associated with the size of our boys from Japan in their wrestling suits- even one from the Secretary General!
 
The team representing Kenya were also well dressed representing the somewhat controversial nature of the Kenyan economy as Michael was dressed as a Zebra, yet Jamie was dressed as a hunter! These boys worked hard to gain support of other nations and put forward a number of amendments that were successfully passed. In my opinion they should have received the highly commended award as they spoke exceptionally well the whole weekend and also participated as authentic representatives of Kenya. However, politics always come into play and I am sure that the adjudicators did not want to be seen as favouring the private school system, with Knox and Shore receiving first and second prizes.
 
The team representing Kazakhstan were probably the quietest of our teams in the debate, however, I believe at the end of the day they enjoyed the opportunity to meet people and make new friends as they become quite social as the weekend wore on.
 It was wonderful though that the students from Japan, Aaron, Matthew and Nathan were recognised for their efforts, receiving second place. I’m not sure if the winning point was made with their amendment proposed, that was surprisingly not passed, which was that the international sport of cricket should be replaced with MUNA!
 
At any rate, all the boys had an enjoyable weekend and got into the spirit of the event. As always the boys acted with the utmost respect, representing Shore with integrity, as I would expect. A number of the rotary volunteers commented specifically about our boys’ exceptional behaviour throughout the weekend. The volunteer from Crows Nest Rotary also explained how the students sought him out to thank him and Rotary for sponsoring them attending the weekend. They were, apparently, very grateful. It is always a pleasure to see our boys in action, participating with enthusiasm, good humour and of course integrity. I had a blast myself listening to them debate. Thanks John for the opportunity to attend and be a part of their experience.

The Japan team reported:

Last Saturday and Sunday, three teams from Shore competed in the annual Model United Nations Assembly. With 40 teams from schools situated all over Sydney, each representing different countries from small countries like Paulau to more interesting nations such as North Korea, the competition was extremely high. Hosted by Baulkham Hills High school, the teams from Shore had been preparing for months prior, planning, preparing and assembling themselves to be the voice of their respective countries.
 
The team of Michael Dennis, Panayiotis Xenos and Jamie Abel represented Kenya where they stood fast to the urgent needs of the Kenyan people, conveying their arguments in a clear and sophisticated manner, with all members contributing significantly to the Assembly’s discussion.
 
The second team consisting of Matt Allan, Nathan Richards and Aaron Smith captured the Assembly’s attention from the outset, with their inflatable sumo suit costumes stealing the talk of the town. The team, representing Japan, spoke with immense passion and humour throughout the two days, with several ‘unique’ amendments, drawing a lot of attention from the other countries.
 
Kazakhstan, the third team, was represented by Nick Leung, Alexander Doherty and Toby Warden. These three men were furiously working behind the scenes, communicating and bargaining with many countries. They successfully sabotaged several countries’ amendments and also contributed well to the talk of the Assembly themselves.
 
Throughout the competition we continued to grow in both our public speaking skills and our ability to convey an opinion, in a manner that won both the adjudicators’ and nations’ support.  While both making friends and learning more about the countries of the world, we also improved our ability to communicate and work as a team.
 
Overall, all three teams competed to a great standard, all speaking with insight and confidence. We are proud to announce that Japan, represented By Matt Allan, Nathan Richards and Aaron Smith, performed extremely well coming 2nd in a pool of 40 different countries.