Public Speaking Success 2020
Initially delayed due to the pandemic, the 13th ̨ž³UUApp Public Speaking Competition took place on the evening of Wednesday 23 September after the resumption of extra-curricular activities in Term 3.
41 students competed in seven heats, which ran concurrently, followed by eight students participating in the impromptu speech competition. The evening was a great success, with competitors delivering entertaining and inspiring speeches to an appreciative audience. All students are to be highly commended for taking up the challenge of public speaking and showing courage and determination. Congratulations to all the winners and runners up from this evening.
Special congratulations to Year 12 student Mosaia McDonald, who was the worthy recipient of the ̨ž³UUApp Excellence in Public Speaking Award for 2020. An active public speaker since commencing in Year 7, Mosaia consistently excelled in the College competitions. She has represented the College in numerous external contests, reaching the state final of the Plain English Speaking Award last year and the Rostrum Voice of Youth Competition on three occasions, including most notably representing Western Australia in the national final in 2017 after taking out the Junior State Final.
An event like this is the result of the efforts of many. I would like to thank and acknowledge all students for their participation, as well as their families for their ongoing support. Thanks to all the alumni adjudicators for carrying out the daunting task of adjudicating the high quality speeches. We also had a number of Year 12 student leaders generously give their time to assist in the running of the event, helping with duties such as set up, chairing, timekeeping and MC’ing – their commitment is greatly appreciated. Thanks also to Mr Ray Andrew and Ms Melanie Bird for assisting with coaching students, and the Year 12s and Year 11s who coached our Year 7s in the lead up to the competition.
This is my final year of coordinating Public Speaking at the College as I will be retiring at the end of this year. It has been a privilege to work with so many young people, to see them grow in confidence and to give them a platform from which they could voice their concern about issues important to them. These are memories that I will always cherish.
Mrs Noreen Stevenson
Coordinator
