1043 days ago

Parumoana Schools Speech Contest 2021

Rhondda Sweetman from Plimmerton Rotary

Parumoana Schools Speech Contest 2021
The Parumoana Schools ‘cluster’ covers the nine primary schools in northern Porirua. It is a longstanding tradition, now stretching back over 20 years, for them to compete to see who their best young speech-makers are. Our club sponsors the contest in late November each year.
This year it was again held at Discovery School, under the new Covid-19 traffic light system. This meant that each speaker was allowed only two supporters, so the audience was smaller than usual, but it proved to be as enthusiastic as ever.
As previously, it was coordinated and chaired by Sarah Jenner, the deputy principal at Discovery School. There were entries from all nine primary schools in the cluster: Plimmerton, St Theresa’s, Pukerua Bay, Pauahatanui, Papakowhai, Discovery, Postgate, Paremata, and Adventure.
Sixteen children (eight girls and eight boys) entered the contest, in two groups: 10 and 11-year-olds, and 12 and 13-year-olds. Each had won the right to compete by winning their own school’s contest. Parents, supporters, and club members were treated to speeches covering an extraordinary variety of topics, some humorous, some serious, and some challenging. The students were animated, confident and well practised, and astonishing in their maturity.
The chief judge was Wendy Betteridge, supported by David Pine, and Darrell Phillips from Spinnaker Toastmasters.
There were certificates for all the contestants, trophies for the winners, and cups for the winners’ schools, all presented by President Kay. Wendy had some well-chosen words of advice for the contestants at the end and opined that the standard of speeches this year was the highest ever.
The prizewinners were:
Years 5&6
First: Annabel Mander (Pauahatanui): “Plastic waste”
Second: Dylan Griffiths (Plimmerton): “Octopusses”
Third: Ava Duncan (St Theresa’s): “Smiling”
Year 7&8
First: Sebastion Knighton (Paremata): “Bread”
Second: Hadley Fale (Papakowhai): “Covid 19”
Third: Ollie Bass (Plimmerton): “The colour yellow”
The school trophies were awarded to Pauahatanui and Paremata Schools.
David Knight again ran things at the Rotary end, quietly but with his usual aplomb.
Because of the enthusiasm of the participating schools, the speech contest shows no signs of losing momentum and is greatly enjoyed by the club members who come along.

More messages from your neighbours
7 days ago

Poll: Should all neighbours have to contribute to improvements?

The Team from Neighbourly.co.nz

An Auckland court has ruled a woman doesn’t have to contribute towards the cost of fixing a driveway she shares with 10 neighbours.

When thinking about fences, driveways or tree felling, for example, do you think all neighbours should have to pay if the improvements directly benefit them?

Image
Should all neighbours have to contribute to improvements?
  • 81.9% Yes
    81.9% Complete
  • 15.3% No
    15.3% Complete
  • 2.7% Other - I'll share below
    2.7% Complete
2401 votes
7 hours ago

Think You’ve Got the Answer? Today’s Riddle Says ‘Prove It’!

Riddler from The Neighbourly Riddler

If eleven plus two equals one, what does nine plus five equal?

Do you think you know the answer to our daily riddle? Don't spoil it for your neighbours! Simply 'Like' this post and we'll post the answer in the comments below at 2pm.

Want to stop seeing riddles in your newsfeed?
Head here and hover on the Following button on the top right of the page (and it will show Unfollow) and then click it. If it is giving you the option to Follow, then you've successfully unfollowed the Riddles page.

Image
5 days ago

Live Q&A: Garden maintenance with Crewcut

The Team from Neighbourly.co.nz

This Wednesday, we are having another Neighbourly Q&A session. This time with John Bracewell from Crewcut.

John Bracewell, former Black Caps coach turned Franchisee Development Manager and currently the face of Crewcut’s #Movember campaign, knows a thing or two about keeping the grass looking sharp—whether it’s on a cricket pitch or in your backyard!

As a seasoned Crewcut franchisee, John is excited to answer your lawn and gardening questions. After years of perfecting the greens on the field, he's ready to share tips on how to knock your garden out of the park. Let's just say he’s as passionate about lush lawns as he is about a good game of cricket!

John is happy to answer questions about lawn mowing, tree/hedge trimming, tidying your garden, ride on mowing, you name it! He'll be online on Wednesday, 27th of November to answer them all.

Share your question below now ⬇️

Image