2018 School Magazine

JUNIOR AND SENIOR MERLE WEAVER

PUBLIC SPEAKING This year, Lara Triscott (10H), made it through to the State Finals of the Rostrum Voice of Youth Public Speaking Competition for the second year in a row. Lara competed in the Senior Division against students from Years 10, 11 and 12. The topic of her winning speech was ‘Make every step count’. An extract appears below: N ot all of us get challenged in the way that Christopher Reeve or Nelson Mandel did. It’s easy to stand here in this lucky country surrounded by opportunity and optimism and say make every step count. But how would we face adversity of the kind I’ve talked about today? And how would we face adversity of the kind that others of my age face in this very country on a daily basis—in abusive family environments or in neglected indigenous communities. Would we have the courage and the wisdom to ‘make very step count’ in those circumstances? S urely for steps to be worth counting they must be for the purpose of more than just our own glory or fulfillment. Superman knew this as he fought for the powerless. Christopher Reeve knew this as he fought for others with spinal cord injuries. Nelson Mandela definitely knew this as he fought for the powerless. The steps that really count, that we are remembered for, are those that carve the way for others, smooth the path. W hen we challenge ourselves, we make a step change, a giant leap. When we…step up.” JUNIOR AND SENIOR MERLE WEAVER The Junior and Senior Merle Weaver are internal Public Speaking Competitions that take place annually. The competition is named after Merle White Weaver who donated the Merle Weaver Prize for Public Speaking to the School in 1954. The Junior competition is open to girls in Year 10 and Senior Merle Weaver is for Year 12 girls, with one girl competing from each House. In the Junior competition, girls can speak about a topic of their own choosing. Year 12 students have two sections including a speech on a topic of their choice and an impromptu speech on one of three proverbs with 10 minutes preparation time. Both competitions are judged on manner and matter as in Debating. There are three judges who are teachers with expertise and experience in this area.

JUNIOR MERLE WEAVER COMPETITORS AND TOPICS:

Student

Topic

1

Sasha Mc Cormack (10M)

We shouldn’t be afraid to identify as feminist

2 Manjumariya (Manju) Pynadath (10G)

A million is a statistic

3 Tiarne Graves (10L)

A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush

4 Lara Triscott (WINNER) (10H)

Words are powerful

5 Abbey Grice (10E)

All about me

6 Bryleigh Parsons-Pope (10B)

If you could use your voice

7

Abigail Lui (10O)

It’s better to light a candle than to curse the darkness

8 Matina Samios (10W) 9 Bridgette Watkins (10R)

Perfectionism

Ignorance is not bliss Lara spoke about the Rwandan genocide and the power of words to affect change. SENIOR MERLE WEAVER COMPETITORS AND TOPICS:

Student

Topic

1

Jordan Lee (12W)

IVF for post-menopausal women is ethically insupportable

2 Chloe Fleming (12R) 3 Rebecca Hayley (12M) 4 Nanda Soe (12G) 5 Helena Ghandi (12O) 6 Clare Gordon (12E)

Celebrity politicians Write your own future

Connection

The perception of millennials

Girls’ education

7

Sophie Derrick (12H)

Equality for women in the workforce

8 Imogen Horton (12L)

Detaining asylum seekers in offshore detention centres is morally unacceptable

9 Amrutha Murali (WINNER) (12B) Organ donation Amrutha urged her audience to talk to their families and loved ones about the importance of organ donation.

BRISBANE GIRLS GRAMMAR SCHOOL 2018 | CO-CURRICULUM | 109