Vanesa in Year 6 was a worthy representative for St John’s in the Diocesan Public Speaking competition held at St Patrick’s in Asquith on Tuesday night. Vanesa was one of 12 competitors and there was definitely tough competition. Speeches ranged from the topic of the alphabet, to overcoming obstacles, to space, to ethical fashion, to the spirit of the game. Vanesa’s topic was ‘Speaking up to make a difference’ and she spoke with conviction, confidence and poise and we were very impressed.
The competition is in two parts – a 3 minute prepared speech, then a 1 minute impromptu speech (with a 10 minute preparation time). As you can imagine, having only 10 minutes to prepare and practice a speech can be quite a nerve-wracking thing to do, but the children all did a spectacular job!
Special guest judge included Philip Ruddock, second longest running member of parliament. He commended all of the speakers on the passion and strong performance and talked about the good hands we are in for our future with thinkers and speakers like these.
