The Cows (Celebration of Words) contest was a public speaking win for students Phoebe Trott, Grace McErlane and Russell Hamlyn-Harris from St Philip’s Christian College, who walked away with a trophy and certificate.

The open door event, held at Raymond Terrace senior citizens hall, had some of its regular members in attendance along with contestants and their support teams.

It was organised by the Raymond Terrace Writers Group, who sent invites to all local schools.
The students were selected by the English Faculty.

Entry criteria for the students was to write and present a three-minute presentation addressing both sides of a topic.

Phoebe’s topic was ‘Smartphones are the symbol of our generation.’
Whilst Grace’s topic was ‘There’s no right way to do the wrong thing.’
Russell’s choice was ‘Social media is a force for good.’

Phoebe also enjoys singing and performs regularly within her church and sings with the acapela school group.
“I have always liked English and winning this award has given me an extra boost for activities outside of school,” Phoebe said.

Representative Netball for Nelson Bay Netball Association is Grace’s other passion.
Grace told News Of The Area, “It felt good winning again after not public speaking for a while.”

And for Russell, “Winning is re-affirming that I can speak [publicly] and winning has been a big motivator that I can do this.”

As all students are commencing legal studies next year, which involves public speaking and debating, they said they feel this type of contest is good practice and builds their confidence.

The students would like to thank Ms Kristin Clulow for her time and support during the lead up to the contest.

By Mandy ELLIS