Speak Up... Update 
The Speak Up Award is a competition that brings the chance for school students to talk about a topical issue out loud in front of an audience. The speech has to fit into the time frame of three or four minutes, however, it cannot be ridiculously short like thirty seconds or anything of the sort – I don’t see how a highly formal speech can possibly be that short.

The first round of speeches took place in the classroom. Students presented their speeches, and were marked by their teacher and some of their classmates. The top contestants were chosen to enter the second round.

The second round of Speak Up was the school competition. The selected contestants presented their speeches in front of the entire (senior) school, and the judges, who were some teachers, picked the top three from that round to go into the next round.

The next round was an inter-school competition. The school winners were sent by Mrs Mackenzie, the principal, to South Perth Masonic Hall. The speaking area was quite small; much smaller than I expected. Speakers stood on a tiny blue platform in front of a ‘large’ room, with the audience in cushioned chairs in the distance. The audience had less people than I had thought – only the other speakers and their parents and teachers! I had expected something like a TED talk setup, but no – it was almost amusing to see such a tiny little room, for such an important speech.

The judges – a couple of men – sat at a table on the side. They never seemed to look up, except when the speech was finished. Their pens all seemed to be continuously scribbling things down on their papers.

The range of speech topics was quite wide – from the evolution of music, to endangered animals. Yes, it was wide, despite the fact that there were only twelve speakers on the day. Personally, I think Speak Up is a wonderful opportunity to tell society what you are passionate about, and what you care about. But I don’t think the fame and glory that you get is what matters – it’s more about getting a message across to society, and informing people about what you want them to know.

Interschool Cross-Country

In Week 3 some classmates and I went to interschool cross-country. We participated in the event with other students from the school. It was held at Dawson Park Primary School and I’m sure everyone who ran would agree it was a pretty confusing course. It was for years one through to seven.

 From our class the runners were:

Girls: Lucy

Boys: Henry & I.

Places:

Lucy: 2^nd

Henry: 4^th

Blake (me): 3^rd

Here are some intakes of the runner’s personal experience of the day.

Interview with Henry:

What did you think of their track?

 “The track was okay but I prefer our track much more.”

Why?

 “Their track was rough and confusing whereas our track was much more flat (had slight hills) and was clearly marked out.”

Did you like going to interschool?

 “Yes, I thoroughly enjoyed it.”

What was your favourite part of the day?

 “Mainly the running, but I did enjoy watching and cheering my school on.”

Interview with Lucy:

Have you ever been to interschool before?

 “Yes, last year.”

What was your favourite part of the day?

 “I liked Watching everyone run.”

Did you enjoy the conditions, what were they like?

 “Yes, it felt nice on an overcast day.”

Did you like going?

 “Yeah, it was fun.”

As you can see, it was a fun day had by all. Personally, I thoroughly enjoyed it and can’t wait for next year’s event.

- Blake