CSDA Public Speaking & Debating

Pursuits in the field of oratory have long been a distinguished undertaking at Brigidine College. The skills of oratory, rhetoric and persuasion are at the heart of skilful communication. The participation of our young women in the Brigidine College Oratory Squad affords them the opportunity to hone their spoken communications skills and lend a strong voice to issues that matter personally to them;  issues which connect to their own experiences and contexts. 

This year, the College participated in the Catholic Schools’ Debating Association (CSDA) Metropolitan Public Speaking Competition. This competition draws competitors from ninety Catholic Schools across Sydney, Parramatta, Wollongong and Broken Bay Diocese. This competition is the largest of its kind in the country, offering students to dazzle audiences with displays of rhetoric, sophisticated discussion and erudite commentary on their chosen topic. This competition required students to develop an original speech from a range of topics. These topics are conceptual in nature and challenge students to interpret them not simply at a literal level, but in a way that renders a comment on significant issues facing our communities and the world. The topics for this year were;

This year, Brigidine entered a full complement of students in the competition to great success. On behalf of the whole College community, we congratulate the following students on their participation in the general round of the Public Speaking Competition:

We were fortunate to have the following four students successfully move through to the Zone Final. The Zone Final is an assortment of the top third of students in each year's division. This is a momentous achievement and we congratulate all speakers on their efforts:

Klara James of Year 7 was successful in moving through to the Grand Final, placing in the top 12 students of the Year 7 Division. Klara is to be commended for her outstanding performance and ability to craft an exceptionally compelling speech. 

On behalf of the College Community, I would like to express my sincere thanks and gratitude to Ms Jesse Bacon and Ms Anne-Marie Neylan for their hard work in coaching and mentoring our students. Their support and guidance were invaluable to all speakers and a reflection of the great commitment of the College staff to the co-curricular pursuits of our students. 

I would like to express my sincere thanks and gratitude to our College Principal, Mrs Sharyn Quirk and the College Executive for their support of this Competition and encouragement of all our speakers as they challenged themselves; showing great skill and confidence in their oratory. 

Finally, I would like to thank our Year 12 Senior Student Leadership Team for their assistance in chairpersoning, timekeeping and supporting our students throughout the competition, particularly at the Public Speaking Grand Final. 

Debating

This year, Brigidine will again be continuing our grand tradition of participation in the Catholic Schools Debating Association competition. This competition affords us the opportunity to compete in a large pool of Catholic Schools and challenge our students to debate significant issues affecting our world. The Brigidine College Oratory Squad is in the process of formulating teams for this competition which commences at the beginning of Term 2. Dates for this competition will be released in due course. 

Permission notes for speakers interested in taking part will be provided to students at the beginning of Term 2 for parental consent via Compass. 

On behalf of our speakers, I thank you for your ongoing support of Oratory at the College. 

Mr Matthew Woolaston

Director of Staffing & Administration

Coordinator of Public Speaking & Debating