PESA

PESA State Competition

On July, 26 a group of St Bede’s boys with an interest in Public Speaking, Debating and English accompanied Ms Matthews and Ms Doyle to the Plain English Speaking Award (PESA) State Competition at the State Library. We were fortunate enough to watch some of Victoria’s best public speakers in action.

We travelled to the city by train early in the morning and before the competition began we were fortunate enough to receive a private tour of the State Library before the doors were opened to the public. Our guide gave us some fascinating insight on the Library’s history as well as giving us the chance to view some of the valuable artefacts they have on display.

Soon after, the competition commenced and we sat through six prepared speeches from the six speakers, followed by six impromptu speeches on the topic: “History in the making.” All of the speakers were really impressive in both their ability to deliver a complex topic with simple vocabulary as well as their manner and content.

Some of the more interesting prepared topics included “Racism doesn’t exist in Australia”, “Emotion in politics” and “The hidden language”. Ultimately the winner of the competition was a girl who impressively delivered her speech both verbally and in Auslan sign language simultaneously – ‘The hidden language’.

Following the competition and a brief ‘Maccas run’ we had the opportunity to have a VCE Study Skills session where all of us gained fantastic tricks and tips which will be incredibly helpful in the next couple of years of school. We were taught how to determine the credibility of a website as well as how to use the many databases and resources on the State Library website.

Overall the day was a memorable and educational day where everyone, even including the teachers, learnt something new and really enjoyed the experience.

A big thank you to Ms Matthews, Ms Doyle and the Public Speaking, Debating and English Departments for organising the day for the boys.

Aidan Carroll, Year 10