Lions Club of Trafalgar recently held its annual Junior public speaking contest last month.
This program aims to encourage students to participate in public speaking, help build their confidence and allow them the opportunity to hone their natural skills, in front of a variety of audiences, with the freedom to present their speech, unaided and uninhibited, allowing the audience to see their unique, charismatic personalities.
It allows students to use their imagination, as well as expanding their research skills and knowledge on the topics that are chosen each year.
It increases the students’ ability and opportunity to communicate to a wider audience – which includes their family, friends, teachers and Lions members.
Teachers are enjoying the program and making it part of their class curriculum as it incorporates story writing, research, speaking in front of the class, etc.
The contest has two categories – grades 3 and 4, and 5 and 6, and begins with rounds at individual schools.
The subject for grades 3 and 4 was: If you could go on a holiday anywhere in Australia, where would you go and why? and for 5 and 6 was: If you could have dinner with anyone in the world (a real person past or present), who would it be, why, and what would you serve them for dinner?
A total of 84 students from five local primary schools – Trafalgar primary, St Joseph’s, Thorpdale, Narracan and Tanjil South – participated in the Trafalgar Lions contest.
The two winners from each school then participated in the Lions Club Final.
All spoke well and displayed confidence and talent that most of us couldn’t imagine having at that age (or even now!).
The overall winners were Will Finken (grades 3 and 4) and Kaleb Jamieson (grades 5 and 6), both from St Joseph’s Primary School, Trafalgar.
They will go on to compete in a semi-final in September, with the winners from that round then compete in the final at the Lions District Conference in October.
