Thursday, 18 June 2026

 Ros SPENCE (Kalkallo – Minister for First Peoples, Minister for Roads and Road Safety, Minister for Community Sport) (14:52): Today I would like to acknowledge the outstanding students of Hume Anglican Grammar’s Kalkallo campus for their recent public speaking and storytelling competition. This year’s event brought together 168 students from years 5 and 6, with a focus on authentic storytelling, encouraging creativity, imagination and confidence. Congratulations to the four finalists: Charlotte Toma, Shiara Jude, Sehaj Kandra and Nihal Dhindsa. I particularly congratulate Shiara Jude, whose winning piece was a beautiful original Dr Seuss-style poetic story about a plastic bag, which captured the judges and audience alike with its authenticity and creativity. Well done, Shiara. Each finalist delivered a unique and engaging story, from the humour of Sehaj’s love of kebabs to Nihal’s relatable struggle with early mornings and Charlotte’s memorable tale, The Day I Buried the Wrong Fish.

I also commend all students across the school who participated in the public speaking exercise, including younger year level representatives. Each year level had representatives who spoke in front of the assembly. Edwina from prep spoke about community helpers, Diyara from year 1 spoke of their zoo excursion, Jasnoor from year 2 spoke about convincing someone to visit their landmark, Veraaj from year 3 spoke about Komodo dragons and Chaitra M from year 4 spoke about a beautiful dream. This public speaking program reflects the school’s strong commitment to student voice, communication and creativity. I congratulate the staff and students on a fantastic event.