Toastmasters Awards Dinner - 2009

 

 

For the last eight Wednesday evenings, twenty one of our Grade 11 boys have been attending the Toastmasters course run by Elaine Swanepoel of the Speakeasy Toastmasters Club. The mission statement for the club is:

 

“To think clearly, listen attentively, to ‘Speakeasy’ in a relaxed, friendly, fun- filled environment, and to develop confidence and leadership skills”.

 

I think that each and every one of the boys achieved these objectives. It was an absolute privilege to be present at the sessions and to witness the camaraderie within the group. Each participant was required to give both prepared and impromptu speeches and to evaluate one of their peer’s speeches. It was probably this last requirement which was an indication of the trust and support for one another that developed over the period of the course. Their superb evaluations showed how they had listened carefully to the speaker and how they had observed his body language and paid careful attention to the contents of his speech. The criticism given was always constructive and was preceded by positive and commendable aspects of the topic and delivery of the speech. The encouragement and support the boys gave one another was very obvious. What was very noticeable was there was no competitive edge among the group but rather total support and uplifting of each other.

 

The Graduation Dinner took place in the Mike Turrell Pavilion on Wednesday 16 September and the boys were supported by their parents, the Headmaster and Deputies, and other members of school staff who were their guests for the evening. They, themselves, were responsible for the organization and preparation for the evening and did a superb job decorating the venue and carrying out the functions of Toastmaster, Chairman, Sergeant for the Evening, Grammarian and Time-keeper as well as delivering the required speeches for the evening. The Toast was proposed by Jackson Pretorius who reminded us all of the good work being done by the Greenpeace organization.

 

The results were as follows:

 

1^st Place Prepared Speech              – Vishendra Naidoo

1^st Place Evaluation                           – Vishendra Naidoo

1^st Place Impromptu                          – Andrew L’Homme

Greg Louw and Jackson Pretorius were given awards for the most improved speakers and Vishendra Naidoo was awarded a certificate for leadership skill.

 

Vishendra Naidoo, Keagan Pretorius and Andrew L’Homme have been selected to go forward to represent their school in the semi-finals which will be held on Saturday 24 October. Curtis Swanepoel has been asked to do the ‘test speech’ on the day. We are proud of the achievements of every one of these twenty-one boys who made up such an enjoyable and fun-loving group  and will be there to support those who will take part in the semi-finals.

 

 

Mrs J Critcos

MIC: Toastmasters