Tuesday night saw the conclusion of our Mary McKertich Public Speaking Competition. The standard and calibre of speeches were of an incredibly high standard and all students who competed should be incredibly proud of themselves.
Congratulations to our winners –
Nathaniel Hrambanis 8D (Junior)
Olly Bastien-Sylva 10C (Intermediate)
Steven Tran 11G (Senior & Overall Winner)
I look forward to presenting you with your trophies once we return to school!
“I found my experience doing the McKertich very helpful, fun and challenging. I was happy with my prepared speech; I have read my speech a lot over the past months and practiced it until it was memorised. For the impromptu, I have never done one so I was really nervous about trying to make a speech in just 5 minutes. But, as we had practice impromptus, I started to become more comfortable and less nervous. This whole experience has taught me to think on my feet, trying to come up with all my knowledge about a random topic, it also made me feel much more confident with speaking, since I had to think off the top of my head. Overall, it was a great experience that I have learned from and I enjoyed doing the McKertich.”
Nathaniel Hrambanis, Year 8
Junior Champion
“Tuesday night marked the night of the Mary McKertich Public Speaking Final. Having been part of two previous finals myself, something felt eerily different about this years edition, however. An indefinite return to face-to-face learning for all year levels meant that this year, we had to run the competition remotely. Though the logistics of this seem implausible, the night was run smoothly and without a fault. Following a weekend of listening to our prepared speeches, all of which were quality, our judges in Ms Tsiavis, Mr Brennan and Miss Carey welcomed us for the impromptu rounds. Although conducted remotely, they were as daunting and as entertaining as ever, such was the calibre of speakers present. At the end of the night, it was an honour to be announced as the overall winner, though I commend the efforts of all speakers, especially Nathaniel and Olly, the winners of the Junior and Intermediate divisions. A final thanks to Ms Tsiavis and Mr Brennan for taking time out of their days to judge, and to Ms Carey for organising the entire remote competition. Without your efforts none of this could have been possible.”
Steven Tran, Year 11
Senior Champion & Overall Winner
“With that however I try to focus on the positives, no long bus trips to school and the resilience and self-determination, and drive that I and many of my class mates have developed. I have had to become more disciplined, more focussed and more resourceful than I could ever have imagined.
I would like to thank the students who participated in this important event. Congratulations to the winners and to the runners up, best of luck for next year. I am always impressed with the eloquence and courage of our participants. The range of topics covered and with the professionalism with which you conduct yourselves. I am always especially keen to see what are Year 7 cohort has to offer and am always stunned at incredibly high standards they achieve.
Once again thank you to all the participants, Judges and staff that make this event a success. For me, sadly this is my last year, but I wish you all every success in the future.”
Connor Hodinj, Year 12
Public Speaking Captain