Public Speaking, in all its forms from storytelling, to reading, poetry and speech presentation is a skill that stands all children in good stead for the rest of their lives. Woodland’s students are very fortunate in that they are afforded an opportunity to develop the skill of speaking in front of an audience from a very young age. Students are exposed to the presenting of Prepared Speeches from Grade 1 all the way through to Grade 6.
Students are able to present these speeches at the annual Junior College Speech Evenings, while the Intermediate Phase students participate on a termly basis in the Chatterbox Evenings which are hosted by different schools in our area. At these evenings, our students invariably speak extremely well and do themselves – and the College – proud.
Every alternate year our Foundation Phase students are given the opportunity to compete in the St Dominic’s Choral Verse Festival as well as intra-class competitions. Similarly, the Intermediate Phase competes annually in the same event. Practising for the festival begins in earnest at the beginning of the second term, as it takes a great deal of commitment, discipline, and practice to be able to recite a poem in unison – speaking with “one voice”. At the festival, our students have always excelled and learned valuable skills.
An enthusiastic group of Intermediate Phase students annually participate in the Greater Benoni and Ekurhuleni Eisteddfods in a variety of speciality events such as prepared speeches, impromptu speaking, prepared and unprepared reading, monologues as well as dramatic items. The number of students who have participated in this highly skilled cultural activity is growing steadily.