Interview with Siobhan Rossenrode, Public Speaking and Debating Coordinator
Can you tell us about the Public Speaking and Debating program at GRC Peakhurst Campus?
The Debating and Public Speaking program here at GRC Peakhurst Campus provides students with opportunities to cultivate their skills in team work, critical thinking, the development of cohesive and well informed arguments, and confident oration. Throughout the year, students are encouraged to develop their talents in Public Speaking and Debating by participating in a variety of competitions including The Plain English Speaking Competition, Legacy Public Speaking Competition, and The Premier’s Debating Challenge. These competitions, along with in-school training days, allow students to connect with others and share their skills to succeed and thrive in a challenging and purposeful environment.
How did you become the Public Speaking and Debating Coordinator?
I arrived at GRC Peakhurst in Term 2 of 2021. Having previously led the Debating teams at my last school, I was keen to hop on board with Ms L. Osmond to support the students in their afternoon training sessions and preparation for speaking competitions. With Ms Osmond now on maternity leave, I have taken on the role in 2022. I hope to bring the same level of passion and enthusiasm to the program as she has in previous years.
What benefits have you seen for the students involved in the program?
The students at GRC Peakhurst absolutely thrive in the Debating and Public Speaking Program, and it provides them with fantastic leadership opportunities. Our Year 10 students facilitate the training sessions, providing advice and guidance to our junior students who are keen to learn from their more experienced peers. This leads to a noticeable feeling of camaraderie amongst the students, who are like minded and share a common set of educational goals and values.
What challenges have you encountered?
The last two years have seen the Debating and Public Speaking Programs take a real hit to the spirit and frequency of competitions. There’s nothing better than arguing with your opponents face to face. With the shift to online learning, and increasing restrictions, our students had to master the art of arguing with their opponents through a small laptop screen! If you’ve ever sat through a Zoom meeting, you can only imagine how difficult it would be to listen to the opposition's arguments while the connection cuts out. It’s safe to say, our students definitely prefer the face-to-face debates, but they adapted well to the online format. Our Year 10 team in 2021 successfully won all three of their Premier’s Debating Challenge Debates via Zoom. Unfortunately, the competition didn’t proceed to semi-finals due to COVID-19 related impacts, so I like to think of that team as undefeated champions!
Can you share any success stories?
I believe that it’s very important to collaborate with other schools to allow our students to connect with like minded people and extend their skills in Public Speaking and Debating. As such, one of our many success stories includes our recent partnership with primary schools in the Georges River area. Students from our Debating program in Years 8-10 put together a training workshop for primary aged students from Peakhurst Public School, Peakhurst South Public School, Peakhurst West Public School, Mortdale Public School and of course, Lugarno Public School, who kindly hosted the event. Our high school facilitators covered a range of key debating skills and taught these skills to small groups of students. Afterward, the primary aged students enjoyed a thrilling game of Kahoot to revise the content they learnt, and then participated in a range of games which tested their persuasive speaking skills.
The day proved to be a great success as it allowed the high school students to share their expert knowledge with local primary schools. Thank you to Justine Williams, Principal of Lugarno Public School for initiating this value learning partnership.
What has been your highlight in this role?
I take great pleasure in seeing my students grow in confidence. I love seeing the lightbulb moment they have when they pick out a flaw in the opposing team's case, and I value the insights they bring to each speech and debate. It is most gratifying for me to know that my students are the voice of our future. They continue to make me proud with their interests in topics such as consent, climate action, mental health, racism, and human rights, amongst other important issues. Debating and Public Speaking provides students with lifelong skills which I know will serve them well throughout their education and life outside of school.
