Talking up a storm in public speaking
Team hone their slick presentation to win
North Lanarkshire Public Speaking Success
After smoothly progressing through the first round of the North Lanarkshire School Public Speaking Competition, the team of third year pupils felt confident about going into the final in Bellshill on Tuesday, May 30. Their confidence was justified as they emerged worthy winners of the event.
Following their first round qualification, Gabriel McClymont, chairperson, Reece O’Hare, speaker and Kate Hughes, vote of thanks, did not rest on their laurels. The team spent more time honing their already slick and well-integrated presentation ably assisted by school librarian Miss Marie McGough.
The devil is in the detail and this group of young people certainly appreciated this fact as they integrated their different roles in order to maximise the impact of their presentation on how the future could be affected by the rise of the alt-right: a difficult and very relevant topic for a group of young people.
Their mature and ambitious approach combined with their fluent delivery and solid teamwork prevailed against the fierce competition of five other schools from across North Lanarkshire and the St Aidan’s students won through to victory on the day.
Miss McGough commented on the group’s focus, determination and ability to think on their feet. She said: “They presented themselves so well, prepared themselves so thoroughly and performed so well, both when delivering their individual speeches and when rising to the challenge of thinking on their feet to deal with the judges questions. They are a wonderful group of young people and you could easily imagine them using their skills at the highest level in later life.”
The group were accompanied by a small contingent of fellow St Aidan’s students to support them and they were elated by the victory. A raucous and enthusiastic outburst of community singing allegedly broke out on the bus trip home. After the seriousness of the event a communal rendition of “Bohemian Rhapsody” seemed to be a fitting celebratory anthem for the journey home.
The team of students were enormously energised by their victory and were still buzzing with enthusiasm about their experience when interviewed the day after the event. They pointed to the fact that their topic was difficult but very relevant to the modern world. Gabriel and Kate pointed to Reece’s assured and confident answer to the judges’ questioning as a big factor in their success.
The school congratulates the team who have certainly shown how to bring out the best in confident performance, fast thinking and effective team-work. English in the Environment A group of second year English students in St Aidan’s have been studying Gothic horror novels in class. Where better to capture the ambience of a crumbling Gothic mansion that it steeped in history- some of it mysterious and chilling- than the local landmark, Cambusnethan Priory.
The group, accompanied by principal teacher of English Miss Fiona McGrogan and classroom assistant Lorraine Duncan visited the ruin as part of their studies of Gothic fiction. The idea behind the visit was to capture the atmosphere of the place but also to learn something about the rich and surprising history and culture of the building and area around it that has signs of human habitation going back to the Celtic and Pictish eras.
After a suitable safety briefing and strict instructions about not entering the crumbling interior of the house, the pupils began a treasure hunt activity. The search was on- not for some hidden family treasure concealed in the old mansion, but for information. The surrounding woods and exterior of the house had been seeded with bright orange information posters that contained nuggets of information about how this building was part of a long and intriguing historical saga.
The students enjoyed picking their way carefully across the site and quickly gathered together a wealth of information about the old Priory. Once they had completed their information quest they were given some time to reflect on their experience and discuss what they felt should be done about this beautiful, but sadly diminished building. The students then worked in groups using iPads to make short films about their experience of the place and their plans and projects about how it could be used in the future.
Miss McGrogan, who led the group in the activity, commented: “It was great to see the enthusiastic way that the students tackled this challenge. Getting out into the environment proved to be a great way for the students to use a wide range of their skills in a unique and stimulating setting. To see our young people deploying reading, note-taking, discussion, computing and presentation skills in such a natural and spontaneous way was wonderful. I’m really looking forward to reviewing the videos that the students produced- the way that some of the group started to present their finding suggests that we could have some media stars of the future in the making here!”
On Thursday, June 1, over 70 pupils represented the school at the North Lanarkshire County Sports Championships, which is the biggest sporting event in the school year. The young people’s effort, behaviour and sportsmanship were commendable and they were a credit to themselves and the school.
The S1-S3 pupils won 11 Medals on Day 1: Gold Medals Aaron Langan - S2 Boys Hurdles Dawid Graczyk - S3 Boys Long Jump Silver Medals: Conor Cowan - S1 Boys Shot Putt Aaron Langan, Aaron Paterson, Tasaduqq Ali & James Craig S2 Boys 4x100m Relay
Lauren Baillie, Alicia Wylie, Megan Wands & Lauren Anderson - S3 Girls 4x100m Relay
Megan Wands - S3 Girls Triple Jump
Michael Musiza - S3 Boys Hurdles Bronze Medals: Marc Ferguson - S2 Boys Hurdles Agata Karasiewicz - S2 Girls Shot Putt
Lauren Anderson - S3 Girls Hurdles
Dawid Graczyk - S3 Boys Hurdles