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: 2nd
Henry: 4th
Blake (me): 3rd
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.
