Students exude confidence at annual awards

On Monday 26 June the City of South Perth hosted the annual Speak with Confidence Awards. These awards are open to students in years six and seven from local primary schools within the City.

Now in their 21st year, the awards aim to increase the confidence and poise of middle school students and focus on how they can clearly express their opinions and ideas. 

The students choose their topics, write their speeches and then deliver to a panel of three judges and an audience comprising teachers and family members.

From the 18 students participating in the qualifying sessions, six students were selected by the panel of judges to present their speech in the finals held later that evening. 

The speeches presented involved a wide range of interesting, entertaining and informative topics, from homelessness to world leaders.

The judges were faced with an extremely difficult decision to determine the six finalists and an even tougher job in judging the final. The six finalists performed exceptionally well in front of a crowd of around 100 family members, teachers and fellow students.

The City of South Perth’s Deputy Mayor Glenn Cridland announced the winners and presented the awards:

• First place – Jack Alexander - Kensington Primary School – “Let’s Stop Cutting & Start Saving”
• Second place – India Da Silva – Penrhose College – “Living with Gorillas” 
• Third place – Ruby Broadbent – Kensington Primary – “What a Waste!”

First place winner Jack Alexander, from Kensington Primary School, impressed the judges with his insightful speech about sustainable use of the environment and conserving our trees - “Let’s Stop Cutting & Start Saving”.

The other finalists were Maddison Paddock and Ludovici Pace both from Como Primary School and Lily Parker from Manning Primary School who were congratulated for their excellent speeches and making the finals.

Deputy Mayor Cridland said: “The children who competed in this year’s competition are a great credit to themselves, their families, schools and the City of South Perth. Their effort and prepation were obvious and the performances were exceptional. I was delighted to be invited again to attend the competition and watch the children perform.

“The Speak with Confidence competition provides an excellent opportunity for young people to learn, develop and showcase their skills in what can be a daunting area of public speaking. The competition would not be possible without the substantial contribution from volunteers from Toastmasters.

“Each year the quality of speeches delivered at the awards reflect the hard work and dedication by both students and teachers, and this year was no exception with outstanding presentations.

“This event really highlights the talent within our local schools, as well as the City’s support to the education sector."

The City would like to thank all of the primary schools involved and the volunteers from Toastmasters International who again helped coordinate, present and judge this year’s awards.

Finalist Lily Parker,  Ruby Broadbent,  Jack Alexander,  India Da Silva,  Maddison Paddock and Ludovici Pace with Deputy Mayor Glenn Cridland (back left) and Toastmaster’s Compere Tom Bielski (back right).