Deputy Principal, Teaching and Learning 

“I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”

-Maya Angelou

Public speaking is a learned skill. For every student that loves being centre stage and speaking in public, there are usually another half a dozen students who tremble with fear at the idea of presenting to a crowd. And this applies to adults as well. Speaking is a skill we develop and nurture in the English department from primary through to secondary school. The ability to communicate your ideas, present a message, and share a story is such an important skill to have. But it does not have to be hard.

At The Hamilton and Alexandra College, we actively develop these skills in the classroom, coaching at the side of the sports field and addresses in the school assembly. Speaking well is a fundamental part of leading well.

At the Prefect Seminar this week I presented to the leadership team of 2023 and my focus was to encourage students to develop the skill of public speaking. I invited the senior students to consider three big ideas. Listen to your audience, prepare and practise your speaking and present confidently. These ideas all help students to speak in their role as a College prefect but more importantly the art of public speaking will help students for their future world of work and study. It is so important that we encourage our young people to start strong, and finish well. How we show up, how we put an audience at ease and communicate our message is of utmost importance. This week our 2022 School Captains present their Valedictory speech at our annual Speech Day and in doing so they will make their mark on the College community. My hope is that our leaders will be remembered for years to come because they have shown respect, compassion and made the student, teacher and parent body feel connected with their actions and their words.

Farewell – the Class of 2022. 

Susan Bradbeer

Deputy Principal, Teaching and Learning