Tatiana Daniels stars as Friendship Secondary wins Independence Elocution Competition

May 30, 2019 News

Tatiana Daniels of Friendship Secondary wowed the judges and a large number of students as she did all that was necessary to ensure

Overall winner, Tatiana Daniels of Friendship Secondary, receiving her Champion’s trophy from Acting Regional Education Officer, Tiffany Harvey

that her school walked away the Champion at the 2019 Region Four Department of Education’s Independence Elocution Competition.
The competition, which saw a number of secondary schools competing, was held in the boardroom of the Regional Democratic [RDC] Triumph, East Coast Demerara. Among those gracing the event were teachers from the various secondary schools and Regional Literacy Coordinator, Ms. Barbara Richards.
The primary objective of the competition was to increase public speaking among students and strengthen their ability to engage in effective speaking.
The competition was coordinated by Ms. Melina Matthews, a teacher at Annandale Primary School, who told the students that the competition was geared towards playing a pivotal role in the further development of education within the region. She urged the students to embrace such initiatives as it is geared towards strengthening their communication skills.
The competition was divided into three rounds addressing different topics. The students who came from all 17 secondary schools in Region Four were praised for their excellent performances. Although it was

Winners Row! From left: Coordinator of the competition, Melina Matthews; Nacia St. Kitts, Tatiana Daniels, Acting REdO Tiffany Harvey, Jonathan Bagot and Regional Literacy Coordinator, Barbara Richards, pose for a photo after yesterday’s competition.

Friendship Secondary carting off the Champion’s trophy, the students all represented their schools fiercely. Round one saw Dora Secondary, LBI Secondary, Lancaster, Soesdyke and St. Cuthbert’s Mission Secondary all going after each other on the topic of Drug Abuse. However, it was Jonathan Bagot who claimed the win for LBI Secondary School.
The second round, which addressed the issue of bullyism in school went to Golden Grove Secondary, thanks to Nacia St. Kitts. She competed against students representing Ann’s Grove Secondary, Beterverwagting Secondary, Buxton Secondary and Plaisance Secondary.
The third and final round saw all the students giving of their best as they sought to outdo each other on the topic of suicide. The round saw students of Annandale Secondary, Bladen Hall Multilateral, Diamond Secondary, President’s College, Hope Secondary, Friendship Secondary and Covent Garden Secondary. However, in the end, it was Friendship Secondary’s Tatiana Daniels who won the judges’ nod as the overall winner of the competition.
Competition Coordinator Matthews disclosed that the competition saw the students being judged in the area of introduction, knowledge, presentation and conclusion, which also looked at effective summary.
Acting Regional Education Officer [REdO], Tiffany Harvey, in her address to the students expressed appreciation to the schools for what, she said, was their unified support to the competition. She noted that all the schools within her region were represented; Harvey urged the students to continue embarking on ways to improve their public speaking skills.
“Regardless of which school you attend, I would like you to stand tall, because you can do well. Don’t allow the colour of the uniform of another school to scare you, which results in you not wanting to engage in such competitions for fear that you would not do well.
We at the Department (of Education) have recognised that when the students do well in such competitions, they would do well in every other aspect of their academics,” she said. She stressed that the competition was timely, promising that similar competitions will be held during the academic year so as to further enhance and increase the skill of students.
“As your REdO, I would like to assure you that whatever programmes and projects are important in improving this and other skills, we would seek to do them, because we would like to aid in your all-round development,” Harvey assured.
In congratulating the winners, she urged the teachers at the various schools to continue working with their students so as to achieve holistic development in this and other areas. “Teachers, I thank you for the work that you have been doing, and encourage you to continue working with the students as we seek to enhance public speaking among our students. Irrespective of their performance today, I congratulate both the students and teachers, because I am very proud,” Harvey reiterated.