Co-curricular Corner

English Speaking Union Public Speaking Competition

Our Intermediate and Junior public speakers have been impressing audiences at the English Speaking Union competition. Their thoughtful preparation and confident deliveries have made for some great evening entertainment for audiences! Each student was articulate and passionate about their topics, representing Mount Alvernia proudly. Don’t miss their encore performances at Open Day this Sunday, an awesome showcase of emerging voices and inspiring leaders!

Amelie was our sole representative for the Intermediate competition and she received a special commendation. Bianca, Yemi & Saadhana represented Year 8 with speeches on caterpillars, rocket ships and awe! A huge milestone for our Year 7 competitors, Meredith, Charlotte, Ava and Maeve who stepped up and who showed great potential for the years to come. A special congratulations to Maeve who won her heat and will proceed to the Junior Grand Finals in June, good luck Meave! 

Mount Alvernia is definitely making its mark in the Public Speaking world as one of our 2025 School Captains, Amaeh Reed, was asked back to assist with the running of the event. Thanks for representing us so well, Amaeh! 

Staff vs Student MUN

Written by Heidi, Model United Nations Captain

Lively debate and laughter filled the room during our very first Staff vs Student Model UN afternoon last week. Students and staff tackled global issues with flair, learning the ins and outs of MUN. Rumours spread that some of our expert maths teachers would only take alliances once students solved intricate maths problems and two of our other teacher teams joined forces to unite America and Russia. This was a fantastic way to build skills, confidence and connection. 

Last Friday, the Model United Nations (MUN) club hosted our first Staff vs Student MUN afternoon. The atmosphere was full of excitement (cough, cough... chaos) as teachers and students suddenly became representatives of countries like the United States and the Russian Federation. We debated the ethics of AI in the school environment, and some of the teachers perspectives were certainly very interesting!

One of the highlights of the afternoon was a debate regarding Usher's rights to the region of Pakistan. This amusing conflict allowed both sides to attempt to convince a chamber of why or why not Usher owned their country, mirroring some real-life strategies of tariffs. I hope this event not only helped students and teachers to develop their public speaking and negotiating skills but also encouraged them to critically think about international relations and the complexities involved in global policymaking.

We are very grateful for our generous and skilled teachers who gave up their time for this community-building event. And of course, a special shout out to Mr Hills (the delegate of Finland) for spending the afternoon of his birthday with us! We celebrated with a cake and a small present. Happy birthday sir!

da Vinci Decathlon

This year marked our school’s debut at the da Vinci Decathlon and our trailblazing teams embraced the challenge with enthusiasm! After attending school last week on their Work from Home Day, it was clear they were committed to representing us with grit and creativity. And they did not disappoint. Ms Bethany Gair and I had the chance to watch the students in their elements, stretching their thinking, learning new skills and setting a brilliant benchmark for future participation. 

Both teams enjoyed the day and are hoping to be invited back next year for this extension activity. A massive congratulations to our Year 11 team who placed 1st place in the English paper and 3rd place in the Creative Producers segments. This is a highly competitive competition and these results in their first year prove that they are talented, dedicated and creative.

Thank you to Ms Simone Roche, Mr Pasang Tenzing and Mr Jayden Hills as well as our amazing coach, Nick, for preparing our students in their expert fields.