Lions Club Secondary Schools Public Speaking Competition begins next week

The annual Lions Club Public Speaking Competition starts next week, with preliminary competitors gearing up to show off their prowess starting with the topic of banning mobile devices at work.

For four consecutive days, starting on Tuesday, October 1, four batches of students will speak on four different topics for the preliminary round of the Lions Club St Vincent South/FLOW Annual Secondary School Public Speaking Competition 2019.

All of the preliminary rounds will take place at the Frenches House, starting at one pm each day. From these rounds the six students with the best scores for the prepared and impromptu speeches combined, will take on the finals which will be held at the Methodist Church Hall on October 23.

The batters up for zone one are the St Vincent Girls’ High School, Bishop’s College Kingstown, Dr J.P Eustace Memorial Secondary School, St Clair Dacon Secondary School, Union Island Secondary School, and St Joseph’s Convent Kingstown.

For their prepared topic, the youngsters will be tackling discussions on the topic, “The banning of mobile devices from workplaces is a strategy for an era long past and certainly inappropriate in this digital age.”

The following day, schools in zone two, namely, the Campden Park Secondary School, St Vincent Grammar School, Bequia Seventh Day Adventist Secondary School, Bequia Community High School, Intermediate High School, West St George Secondary School, and Emmanuel High School Mesopotamia, will take the podium.

The audience will hear speeches on the subject, “Other than doctors and lawyers, anyone can claim a profession and practice in St Vincent and the Grenadines without fear of sanction or reprisal.”

Thursday will see schools in zone three: St Joseph’s Convent Marriaqua, Mountain View Seventh Day Adventist Academy, Georgetown Secondary School, Adelphi Secondary School, North Union Secondary School, Sandy Bay Secondary School and the George Stephens Sr. Secondary School competing.

They will be taking their audience through a debate on whether “The dwindling youth population in churches challenges the existence of religious beliefs in this country and the relevance of the church in young people’s lives.”

The final preliminary competitors in zone four are the St. Martin’s Secondary School, Central Leeward Secondary School, Troumaca Secondary School, Petit Bordel Secondary School, Thomas Saunders Secondary School and Buccament Secondary School.

These students will be hoping to impress the judges with their take on “A person’s social media presence is personal and should not be used by potential or current employers for vetting or sanctioning purposes.”