Daniel Herd represented St Edward’s in the regional finals of the Rostrum Voice of Youth Public Speaking Competition at Abbotsleigh. This final saw students from Sydney and the Central Coast deliver an eight-minute speech and a three-minute impromptu speech with the winner progressing to the state final. Again, Daniel proved to be a strong competitor and while he did not place, he is to be commended for competing in such a rigorous competition against students who were, for the most part, in Years 11 and 12. Congratulations, Daniel on your ability to capture an audience. The prepared speech was outstanding, but equally impressive is the ability to produce an engaging and considered impromptu speech – it is not easy to create a speech on the spot and deliver it to an audience without rehearsing! Plain English Speaking Jayden Redfern and Daniel Herd represented St Edward’s in the Plain English Speaking Competition. Jayden and Daniel demonstrated their outstanding public speaking ability commanding the attention of their audience and demonstrating thorough knowledge of their topics nuclear disarmament, and the ill treatment of women, respectively. Although Jayden and Daniel did not place in this round they received positive feedback from the adjudicator, and teachers from other schools commented on how well they spoke on the day. Congratulations to both Jayden and Daniel for their commitment to public speaking and, in particular, on their impromptu speeches that were engaging, relevant, and topical – it was fantastic to watch! Debating This year, like a lot of other events, debating was not possible for most of the year – even in a virtual setting. Fortunately, our Year 10 debating team were able to participate in one debate before we went into lockdown. Congratulations to Jayden Redfern, Daniel Herd, Blake Downs and Ben Stansfield on an outstanding debate. These young men demonstrated their ability to be critical thinkers and work as a team, and their oratory skills are second to none.
Daniel & Lachlan Herd
Debating Team
Where young men achieve
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