“It usually takes me more than three weeks to prepare a good impromptu speech.” Mark Twain
The Ingrid Holden Cup is a tradition established many years ago in honour of Mrs Ingrid Holden, who served as Deputy Head of Junior School for close to two decades. Our Years 3, 4, 5 and 6 students have been refining their persuasive writing skills in class by writing both prepared and impromptu speeches on a variety of topics. They considered strategies to consider the Matter- what they chose to write about, as well as the Method- how they structured their speeches. Their public speaking skills were enhanced by focusing on Manner, including posture, eye contact, gestures and the 5Ps for voice: projection, pace, pausing, pitch and pronunciation.
Two finalists from each class were selected to prepare and present a speech at the final. This is a daunting task for most adults! Our Kambala girls launched themselves at it with characteristic confidence and intelligence. They encouraged the audience to have empathy, no regrets, to clean up their own mess (personally and globally) and to delve deeper to understand those who are misunderstood. Such wise advice from our young learners!
Congratulations to the following students:
Stage 2 Winner: Evangelia Botros
Stage 2 Runner Up: Madeleine Peters-Brown
Stage 2 Notable Mentions: Freya Johnson and Ellen Wu
Stage 3 Winner: Gabriella Botros
Stage 3 Runner Up: Zara Jindrich
Stage 3 Notable Mentions: Araminta Dusseldorp and Erykah Skimin
Congratulations to all of our competitors; they provided such engaging, educational and inspirational speeches. Our world would be in safe hands with these young women at the helm.