Megan & Katia, Junior Public Speaking Nationals, May 2019

JUNIOR PUBLIC SPEAKING NATIONALS MORE THAN JUST A DREAM

By Megan Burns & Katia Djomo Wongep, Grade 8

Recently, we had the honour of representing Balmoral Hall School and Manitoba at Junior Public Speaking Nationals in Vancouver.
 
The road to Nationals was challenging and quite a journey. It began with an in-school audition to become members of the Balmoral Hall team at the provincial public speaking tournament, where Megan went on to place fourth in persuasive speaking, while Katia placed sixth in persuasive speaking. Megan placed 10th overall at Manitoba's Junior Douglas Campbell Public Speaking Competition. Everyone supported one another, achieving personal successes, and it was a great disappointment that more students were unable to move on to the next level of competition, Nationals.

We, along with eight other students from Manitoba, competed at Nationals in Vancouver from May 9–13, 2019.
 
There was a wide variety of schools from Manitoba and the other provinces represented, giving us opportunities to create stronger bonds with people from across Canada. At Nationals there are four categories, including interpretive reading (i.e. solo acting), persuasive speaking, impromptu speaking, and debate. With each round of competition, we found ourselves becoming more confident, learning the differences in the types of pieces and styles used by other provinces, while also bonding with the other competitors who were all sharing the same feelings of nervousness.

However, the whole experience was not only that of competition, as we were able to visit Vancouver Aquarium for a science lesson on sea lions, walruses, penguins, dolphins, and other marine life. We also loved visiting Granville Island, which reminded us of The Forks. Sadly, we did not place among the top students recognized with awards; however, those five days at Nationals were amazing, and we will never forget this challenging competition and the friends we made.
 
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Balmoral Hall School

630 Westminster Ave. Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada  R3C 3S1
Tel: (204) 784-1600 | Fax: (204) 774-5534 | info@balmoralhall.ca
Charitable Registration No. 12994 3932 RR0001
Our mission at Balmoral Hall School is to inspire girls’ imagination and the courage to excel, to reach, to lead, to care.

We are a nondenominational independent day and boarding school, educating students from Junior Nursery to Grade 12.