We had five students from Year 5 & 6 who qualified as preliminary finalists in the A B Paterson Public Speaking competition this week. If we thought the calibre of speeches at the heats were exceptional, the speakers at this level were simply unbelievable. They demonstrated maturity beyond their years, poise and the sophistication of their vocabulary was at a standard that could have quite easily been delivered as a Ted Talk. The adjudicators had an extremely tough job in deciding the top two from each of the preliminary final heats. Each and every one of our students clearly deserved to be there as they represented our school exceptionally well.

A massive congratulations must go to Kilarney as she made it through to the grand final. This meant she needed to stay on even later in the night. Although Kilarney didn't place in the grand final, it's important to note that she is now ranked in the top 10 speakers for her speech on 'Australia's Greatest National Treasure.' With over 173 Year 6 students in the competition, this is an incredible achievement.

Congratulations and well done must also go to Ruby, Imogen, Georgina, Isabella L and Isabella W for making it through to the preliminary finals and their praise-worthy performance on the night.