Program Highlights
Virtual Debating
This week, Toby Wrightson, Leanne Chua, Josh Boghikianand I participated in a Virtual Debating trial against Belmont College in NSW. It is basically the same as normal debating (2 teams of 3 arguing over a topic), but with a twist – we were in a classroom at Kilvington while the other team was at their school in NSW and the debate was streamed through the internet. Even the adjudicator was at his home in Western Australia!
The topic was ‘Performing arts classes should be required for all students’. A coin flip determined that we were to argue the negative case. Microphones were muted and we set into our hour of preparation time. Josh was our first speaker, arguing that students should have a choice in the subjects that they do, and the financial costs of implementing this. I spoke about whether there is a need to make performing arts compulsory while subjects such as Math and Science still aren’t, and what it would be like for people who are being forced to participate. Toby was our final speaker who rebutted the other team’s arguments and summarised our own.
We ended up winning the debate by a small margin. I encourage anyone interested in this to try debating next year.
Bryce Jurgensen, Year 10
Somewhere in France
In late April, the Year 10 French class and Madame Dickens travelled to the University of Melbourne to see an exhibition on Australian soldiers in France during World War 1. The unit we are currently studying in French is about Australian and French connections. Specifically, we are looking at diggers in France. Conveniently, ANZAC day was on Monday so the topic tied in quite nicely.
The exhibition covered many soldiers’ stories and their experiences with the French language and the cultural differences. The exhibition showcased items such as diary entries, French phrase books, photos and even tickets of soldiers’ trips around France while on leave.
The exhibit also featured some interactive activities. As a result of the excursion, we experienced some of the struggles and language barriers between the two cultures. We also saw the personal stories and experiences of soldiers not in the midst of battle but rather while they were on leave and on holiday meeting and speaking to the locals and experiencing the culture of France.
Nik Kantzas, Year 10
United Nations Representatives
Students in Years 10 and 11 acted as delegates for the United States of America and Timor Leste in a Model United Nations Conference, discussing a proposed Resolution supporting universal primary education.
It was an exciting and dynamic day where students had the opportunity to broaden their understanding of international relations and diplomacy, as well as enhancing their public speaking skills.
Congratulations to Gemma Webb, Cat Linehan, Eve Durand, Nikolaos Kantzas, Vishnu Krishnamoorthi, Kyra von Stiegler, and James Churilov for representing Kilvington so well.
Masterclass on Public Speaking
Recently, Year 11 Kilvington students had the pleasure of welcoming renowned ABC journalist, Michael Rowland, to Kilvington to speak to us about the nuances of public speaking.
Mr Rowland shared his skills and techniques to further refine our spoken language skills, from nearly 30 years of experience in the field of journalism. We were also introduced to new techniques to greatly improve our writing and dictation skills. Mr Rowland answered numerous questions about his endeavours in news reporting, giving us a fascinating insight into his career and life as a journalist.
From this presentation, it is safe to say that we all took away something to benefit us with public speaking and broader English skills.
On behalf of all Year 11 students, we would like to thank Mr Rowland for dedicating some of his valuable time to help us with our language skills and for sharing his experiences with us all.
Aaron Hale and Olivia Beauchamp, Year 11 English Captains