Speech is power: speech is to persuade, to convert, to compel.
Ralph Waldo Emerson (American essayist, lecturer & poet)
Effective communication skills are perhaps the most powerful and essential life skills to harness.
The ability to communicate confidently and to clearly and creatively convey your message is not only a highly sought-after skill in the workforce but also indispensable in our day to day interactions with others.
At St Margaret’s, our comprehensive Speech and Drama Program builds on the classroom development of our students communication and presentation skills, giving students the opportunity to further enhance their skills in interpersonal communication, presentation, performance and public speaking.
There are 200 St Margaret’s girls involved in the program, each learning the power of speech, the art of persuasion and articulation with conviction.
Two of our Speech and Drama students, Hannah Lane (Year 12) and Lily Howells (Year 8), were recently recognised for their outstanding achievements each receiving a prestigious Barbara Sisley Award.
The Barbara Sisley Awards are presented annually by the Communication Speech and Performance Teachers Inc. to recognise the State’s highest achievers in the Australian Music Examinations Board (AMEB) Drama and Performance exams and Trinity College London Speech and Drama exams in the previous year.
The girls were privileged to receive their awards based upon their exceptional results in the 2016 AMEB Drama & Performance exams; Hannah achieved the highest result in Queensland for her Grade six exam whilst Lily received the State’s highest result for her Grade one exam.
Hannah presented a poem called ‘The Choosing’ by Liz Lochhead while Lily performed a monologue adapted from ‘Anne of Green Gables’ by L.M. Montgomery. Both girls gave compelling performances to a captivated audience.
Actor Thomas Larkin, who has appeared in many critically acclaimed Brisbane productions, presented the girls with their awards at a ceremony held at Parliament House on Saturday, 27 May.
Our warmest congratulations to Hannah and Lily.
For further information on the Private Speech and Drama Program click here or phone 07 3862 0750.