Coordinated by Head of Cultural Programmes Bridget White, the courses are offered as a supplement for those with an interest in public speaking. Teachers from the Speech Communication Association visit the College on a weekly basis to teach both Public Speaking and Communication Studies, and Speech and Drama.
In Public Speaking and Communication Studies the students must commit to an intensive programme of several speeches, all designed for contrasting purposes and audiences, to reflect the demands students will face at university and in the business world.
In Speech and Drama, the students take responsibility for developing a performance programme demonstrating versatility, responsiveness and imagination.
Fitting the voluntary study around their busy timetables, the students have worked hard to demonstrate the ability to think critically and deliver engaging content with every task.
“There are so many transferable skills from this work – creativity, organisation, problem solving, lateral thinking, critical thinking, social skills, advocacy, rapport building, empathy, self-expression,” says Speech Communication Association Manager Jacqué Mandeno.
“It’s fantastic to see the students enjoying themselves and growing in self-confidence.”
The students Tom Yates, Will Brougham, Thomas Spillane, Lara Hodgson, Nicholas Lai, Victoria Vilpolla, William Thompson, Georgie Simson, Jacqui Gatfield-Jeffries and Rita Shasha will all be completing their diploma exams in the coming weeks.
Well done to Rita Shasha (Year 13, Middlemore) who is sitting both the Associate Speech Board Diploma with New Zealand Speech and the Associate of Trinity College Diploma.
