Speaking 4 the Planet (S4P) is a public speaking, spoken word, performance and visual arts competition. It provides opportunities for students to express their ideas for a better world. Thomas Rm 6 and Monae Rm 5 recount the day.

On Friday the 9th of June, four Heaton students attended the Speaking 4 the Planet, speech writing event. When we got to Tūranga library we went into the back room and got welcomed and assigned a table where we were taught the structure of how to make a great speech. Then we were briefed on our topic and how to write a hook. We then got our first break.

After the break, we settled back down and waited for the other groups to come back. They explained how to get our audience's attention in our hook. After a while, we got to have a go by ourselves and write as much as we could. The tutor came around and gave us some tips.

After lunch, we got right back into it. One at a time we were called up to present our speeches. There were five other schools at the event. We had a wonderful day. Thank you to Ms Green for organising it and Mr Terris for driving us.