Our season of internal and external Public Speaking competitions culminated with 17 of our students from Years 7 to 12 taking part in the Legacy Junior Public Speaking Award and the Rostrum: Voice of Youth competition. The online season has not dampened the spirits or the initiative of our students; indeed, this year, we have seen 42 students compete in seven internal and external Public Speaking competitions, and an additional seven Debating competitions for those who like to try their hand at both.

Students who entered the Legacy competition needed to focus their speeches on the central values of the Legacy organisation including the ideas of voluntary service, social justice, caring, personal effort, personal sacrifice and/or mateship. Responding to this challenge were our Year 7 students, Louella Simpson, Bella Burdett-Moore, Megan Chang, Sophie Farrer, Heidi Axup and Rhea Werner. These students displayed a strong and engaging manner, and thoughtful content while also reflecting upon the core values of Legacy. The winners were: 1^st place – Sophie Farrer; 2^nd place – Heidi Axup; Honourable Mention – Megan Chang.

Sophie Farrer provided a historical overview of the concept of mateship which reflected substantial engagement with the topic. Heidi Axup demonstrated a strong personal style which included intuitive use of her voice and presentation skills in engaging the audience. Megan Chang’s mature content on the subject of social justice included original content delivered in an empathetic manner.

First place in the Rostrum: Voice of Youth competition (Junior Division) was secured by Megan Chang who adapted her focus on the theme of social justice to deliver a speech which echoed the values of the Black Lives Matter campaign but also warned against using public protest in a superficial manner or in a way that causes us to avoid reflecting about racism in our own Australian context.

The winners of the Senior Division of the Rostrum: Voice of Youth competition were: 1^st place – Year 11, Fleur Anstee; 2^nd place – Year 10 – Maddie Farrer; 3^rd place – Year 11 Victoria Patsakos.

Fleur’s skilful delivery of her speech focusing on the issue of domestic violence reflected years of honing her public speaking skills. Madeleine Farrer’s speech on the set topic of ‘Isolated from humanity’ explored the minefield and contradictory experiences of Instagram, which promise social connection but deliver isolation and a myriad of other problems. Victoria Patsakos’ humourous and conversational style ensured that her audience was totally engaged in her delivery as she argued that Gen Z should be characterised as more than just millennials based on the wide-ranging music that has informed their youth.

We congratulate all the students who have taken part in all the competitions throughout the year, and encourage them to keep refining their skills in next year’s competitions. Finally, we issue a grateful thanks to the staff who have been involved in coaching the girls in these two competitions – Ms Merran O’Connor, Mr Paul Gilby, Mrs Kim Waters, Miss Rebecca Reggars and the senior coaches – for their guidance and commitment to helping develop our students’ skills in Public Speaking.