On Tuesday the 16th of June, six students from Kahikatea presented their persuasive speeches.

• Skylah Roberts - Year 7
• Rylee Squire - Year 7
• Sieni Taleni - Year 7
• Maddy Jones - Year 7
• Pranavi Peddisetti - Year 8
• Pearl Kingi-Hazel - Year 8

The competition was a little different this year. With lockdown happening just as Year 7 and 8 were finishing writing their speeches, it didn't seem fair to have everyone present a speech in class after such a large gap between the writing of them and the delivery. So six students chose to give their speeches in front of a large audience made up of Kahikatea and Kāpuka students and senior leadership. They practised hard and spoke incredibly well. The judges, Sarah Cooper and Teresa Tapp, were blown away by the quality of the student's writing and presentation and it was a very difficult choice for them; with topics ranging from Bullying, to Climate Change and even an informational speech on Ferrets.

Maddy Jones and Pranavi Peddisetti were awarded top Year 7 and Year 8 respectively and will be going through to the Rotary Speech finals in Term 4. We wish the girls all the best.