04 August 2022
At the end of Term 2, Middle Years students showcased their public speaking prowess in the new Middle Years Public Speaking Competition.
As part of the Year 8 pastoral program, students practised using their self-advocacy skills during Mentor sessions. All Year 8 students presented a self-advocacy speech to their fellow classmates throughout Term 2. Their speeches included a broad range of topics, all related to their current concerns, such as school policies, climate change and humanitarian injustices. Each Mentor class selected a winner to represent their cohort in the competition finals. Year 7 students were also invited to participate in a round of semi-finals.
Congratulations to each finalist, representing their respective Mentor classes as outlined below.
- Ethan Chen: Mr Freesmith Mentor Group
- Miles Chipperfield: Mr Higgins Mentor Group
- Andrew Hattingh: Ms Fleming Mentor Group
- Finn Hillier: Mr Swanson Mentor Group
- Edward Gartrell: Mr Hromin Mentor Group
- Siddharth Gautam: Mr Thamm Mentor Group
- Daniel Latimer: Mr Gill Mentor Group
During the finals, students presented their prepared speeches and performed an additional short-notice speech. In only 15-minutes, finalists created a two-minute speech responding to one of the following topics:
- A person I admire
- Winds of change
- Have a go
All students performed fantastic speeches detailing their love of family, belief in humanity and hope for the future. A particular congratulations to the competition winner, Daniel Latimer, who presented his prepared speech on the topic of inclusive education at St Peter’s College. Daniel also presented an inspiring short-notice speech in response to the prompt “Have a go”.
After winning the event, Daniel shared his prepared speech in the final Muster of Term 2 with the wider Senior School in hope of raising awareness and advocating for inclusive education. Great work Daniel!
Nia O’Loughlin
Coordinator of Public Speaking