Legacy and DAV Junior Public Speaking Competition

In the last two weeks, we have been pleased to welcome 44 students in Years 7 – 9 from ten schools to compete in two separate public speaking competitions: the Legacy Junior Public Speaking (held on May 28) and the DAV Junior Public Speaking Competition (held on June 13). The historic Sherren House provided the venue for the smaller of the two competitions, the Legacy Junior Public Speaking Award, and gave the event a sense of occasion as some of our students made their first foray into public speaking.

The participants in the Legacy competition were Year 8 students, Sacha Hanegbi, Georgia Stoupas, Olivia (Rosie) Bogdan, and Year 7 students, Sophie Davis and Christina Wu. While this competition does not restrict students’ choice of topic, their speeches must reflect the core values of the Legacy organisation. Students are directed to relate their content to the ideas of voluntary service, social justice, caring, personal effort, personal sacrifice and/or mateship. To this end, the content of all our students’ speeches reflected sensitivity and substance. Undaunted, they tackled topical subjects such as domestic violence and the importance of respecting one another, as well reflecting upon heart warming stories of personal sacrifice demonstrated constantly by parents, and more particularly, by grandparents through their migrant experiences. In exploring the concepts of resilience and perseverance, students also covered such issues as the difficulty of adjusting to the demands of being a Year 7 student, and the importance of the ANZAC tradition, which promotes the value of mateship and supporting one another as opposed to individualism.

DAV Junior

Involvement in both competitions requires students being able to respond to impromptu topics with minimal preparation. This year the impromptu topics in both competitions covered a wide variety of ideas such as Helping the Homeless, An Oldie but a Goodie, and The Seven Wonders of my World, allowing students to respond in a myriad of creative ways to the stimulus.

Such is the increasing popularity of Public Speaking among students that the Debaters’ Association of Victoria (the DAV) has separated each of its competitions into three age categories: Junior, Intermediate, and Senior. Our Year 8 participants in the DAV Junior Public Speaking Competition were: Lucy Bainbridge, Eloise Rudge, Madeleine Farrer, Bronte Cullen, and Lilli Holmes, who have taken part in Public Speaking competitions or Junior Debating in previous years. They presented speeches on a range of weighty topics including the importance of inclusivity in creating a liveable city, and the importance of safeguarding against further degradation of the Great Barrier Reef. Students also continue to find the issues of homelessness, gender equality and social media fertile ground for exploration.

The teacher in charge of both competitions was Ms Gillian Hosking, and we thank her and the Senior Mentors for their many hours of work and extensive commitment to our junior students. Students who take part in all the public speaking competitions are assisted in developing a range of performance skills, as well as adapting their content to suit the requirements and preferences of particular competitions. Indeed, rather than adhering steadfastly to their own predilections in terms of both content and manner, the strongest public speakers demonstrate the greatest level of flexibility in tailoring their material for a specific audience. Therefore, it is no surprise that the most successful public speakers have spent several years entering competitions, refining their skills, and learning tips from fellow competitors.

Mrs Mary-Anne Keratiotis
Coordinator of Debating and Public Speaking