Heaton achieved great heights by making their voices heard over the last few weeks.

Finding our voice is part of discovering our place in the world, and our Heaton students certainly achieved this over Term 3. Voices across the school explored wide-ranging topics, such as why nursery rhymes are worse than we realise, the importance of a growth mindset and the theory that homework is a secret plot to keep kids from discovering the joys of life!

Public speaking is considered one of the most common phobias, and most avoid it at all costs! So it has been great to see students rising to the challenge, setting their personal goals and choosing to present using electronic platforms or face-to-face within a small group or in front of a class. We are really proud of how our students embraced this learning challenge.

I am delighted to congratulate all our students' excellence in this learning. A special thanks to parents, whānau and teachers who have been so supportive through this process.

Eighteen students battled it out in the school competition, representing their kaupeka. Congratulations to the following students.

Hīnau: Honor R7, Stella R7, Noah R8

Kōwhai: Thomas R6, Sophia R4, Pheobe R6

Raukawa: Jia He R2, Eliza R1, Alyssa R1

Amoka: Lola R12, Sophia R14, Grace R10

Kōtukutuku: Elsie R17, Charlie R18, Lucy R17

Tūrutu: Dean R15, Merrick R15, Sophia R13

Six students qualified for the Preliminary Rotary Speech Competition. Congratulations; Thomas R6, Jia-He R2, Noah R8, Lola R12, Sophia R14 and Elsie R17.

The Rotary judges were very impressed by our Heaton team. You entertained them with the highs and lows of composing a song and why annoying parents make school so hard. You challenged them to think about overcoming adversity, the benefits of sport, being dyslexic and why we shouldn’t let AI take over.

Jia He R2 and Lola R12 advanced to the Rotary Competition Finals, with Jia He winning the Year 8 division and the best speech overall. Lola achieved second place.

On Thursday 17th October, Jia He R2 and Noah R8 were back at it again, competing in the Christchurch Intermediate Speech Competition. You would have been amazed at the standard of oral skill on display. This was a tough competition, but Jia He and Noah rose to the challenge and made our school proud. Jia He achieved first place, and Noah came in second. Excellent work!