On Tuesday 11 September, Salesian College hosted the annual Mary McKertich Public Speaking Competition Final in the Fr Bill Edwards Auditorium. Two boys from Years Seven through to Twelve, of the highest scoring speeches, were given the opportunity to present their prepared speech to an attentive crowd. Amongst them sat our judges Mr Pye, Mr Schillaci and Mr Brennan, who responsibly and diligently monitored every minute detail, from hand gestures to fluctuations in tone, in order to separate the seemingly indistinguishable quality of speeches that awed everyone in attendance. Unsurprisingly, the score margins among the speakers were the narrowest in all seven years of this competition, which is a testament to the increasing talent being fostered at the College, and the oratory calibre of our speakers.
In addition to the current Public Speaking awards, the evening also saw the introduction of the Debating awards. They were implemented as a form of recognition to the school’s Debating prowess, as well as an applaud to the outstanding amount of hard work that boys who have represented the College (at either DAV or ACC levels) have displayed throughout the entire duration of the season. Through these awards we hope to acknowledge the importance and growing emphasis being placed on our Debating program, which has seen considerable growth and improvement over the last few years. Accordingly, these awards reflect the sheer level of commitment and dedication asked of the boys, which has been instrumental to the success of the program this year.
The culmination of these welcome changes has transfigured what was once merely a competition, into a celebration of public speaking and debating altogether. We hope to rebrand the event into a momentous and unmissable occasion on the school’s calendar.
– Emmanuel Chu Chung Chuck
Year 12