On Monday 12 November, the Salesian team of eight students participated in the ACC Public Speaking and Debating excursion. Our team is was made up of eight students altogether, including Ashley (Year 8), Liam (Year 8), Marcellino (Year 7) and David (Year 7) who participated in Public Speaking, and David H, Kevin, Gabe and Emmanuel (all Year 8) who participated in the Debating competition. The public speakers each spoke twice and finished 2nd in Division One. The debaters competed in three debates, with one being an unprepared topic. We finished in 7th place, also in Division One, winning 1 debate and losing two very close debates.
There was no single best part of the excursion because many elements were very enjoyable. Highlights include speaking and debating in front of an audience, spending the day with our peers outside of school and participating in an event for our school.
Public speaking encourages you to become more confident, and also helps you in everyday conversations. It can help you in running for class/school captain or even a higher power, like prime minister. It is an amazing skill to learn and we recommend participating in public speaking.
– Emmanuel Louis and Gabriel Schiavello
8B