Rotary Public Speaking Competition

On Friday 24 October, Berwick Grammar School was afforded the excellent opportunity to attend the Rotary Club of Pakenham’s annual Primary School Public Speaking Competition. This was truly a privilege to attend, and it presented a great opportunity for Declan Coleman and Andrew Bilston of Year 6 to showcase their precocious public speaking talent.

Topics ranged from very serious to very funny, although in all cases the skills of the eighteen young speakers were remarkably strong. The level of sophistication and complexity of ideas was similarly astounding. Our thanks are extended to the Rotary Club of Pakenham for hosting this event.

‘Get Lit’ Poetry Competition 2017 – Winning entries

The winning entries in the 2017 Get Lit Poetry Competition are Hugo Gaulke of Year 7 and Rasridh Islam of Year 8. These talented students receive a literary resource book (kindly donated by Ben’s Books of Bentleigh), as well as a $5.00 canteen voucher. The winning poems are featured below.

Hut River – Hugo Gaulke Year 7

In the heart of the city,
There was a disturbance in the apartment,
Socks, shoes, shirts went into the suitcase without pity,
He was tired of the city and the office department;

Pippen was going to go as far from the city as he could,
He was sick of the smog and crowded street,
He was going bush for good,
He was going to Hut River on his own two feet;

The road was long, but he was willing,
Endlessly twisting through the trees like a maze,
No more was life about the shilling,
Leaves whispering to him in the breeze did not faze him;

Over mountains Pippen trekked,
Down steep valleys, through bobbling steams he went,
The nature had a chilling effect,
He saw a river in the horizon and knew what it meant;

When at last he came to the river he turned north,
Knowing he was nearly there,
He saw a column of smoke and called forth,
He passed a sign marked beware;

Pippen found himself looking at a hut,
Decrepit and decaying as it was the hut was very homely,
By the hut was a windmill and a chestnut,
At sight Pippen knew he belonged to the bush.

Heavy Rain – Rasridh Islam Year 8

Rain is a living serenade played from the heavens
Each tranquil tone is a melody forged and refined
Each soft whisper is a harmony softened and sewed
Each wintery pitapat is a rhythm born and matured

Rain is a breathing masterpiece painted by God
Each bold drop is a draft scribbled and traced
Each vivid pearl is colour splashed and smeared
Each glistening bead is spilt gloss and polish

Rain is a loving poem written with the hands of angels
Each soft droplet is a delicate script curled and tattered
Each coruscating gem is thick ink written and smudged
Each mighty trickle is a pen waltzing along the flesh of a page

Rain is the embracing smell that saunters inside Eden
Each crisp pellet is the scent of dew and soil entwined
Each frozen drip is a messy breath of adventure and fear
Each cool dribble is the fragrance of roses and apples

Rain is a ghostly chill unravelled by the claws of Hell
Each sombre tear rusts away at a stagnant heart
Each shattering pour washes and drowns the spirit
Each heavy bleed blurs and smudges the lines of reality