Goya Dmytryshchak
Altona City Rotary Club this month hosted a public speaking competition, called Wynspeak, for secondary school students in Melbourne’s west.
Hobsons Bay students attending included those from Altona College, Bayside P-12 College, Mount St Joseph Girls’ College and Williamstown High School.
The contest was held at Altona Theatre –the first time since March 2020 that the space had been used, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Altona City Rotary Club vocational director Bryan Goodwin said the competition attracted more than 100 entrants from more than 35 schools.
“The competition is designed to provide a vehicle for young people to grow their self-confidence, build their creativity, critical thinking and leadership skills via public speaking,” he said.
“The winners of the five-minute prepared speech section gain automatic entry to the competition final, which will be held on June 9 at Thomas Carr College, following the completion of eight preliminary heats.
“The topics chosen by the students showcased a range of current issues –some serious and others more light-hearted.
“The winners who will progress to the final were Bea Payla of Altona College and Sofia Bikicki of Williamstown High School.”
