Famous People Brought to Life at the College

The lives of the famous were brought into sharp focus at the ‘push of a button’ this afternoon at the annual Year 8 Famous People presentation.

As part of their Oral Language unit about famous people, the students worked enthusiastically to research, write and learn speeches about a famous person of their choice. They were free to choose whether the person was alive, or now consigned to history, but regardless of their choice, extensive research was required to ensure that the information was both accurate and informative.

The culmination of the unit was a novel presentation in the Elizabeth MacFarlan Centre. Dressed in costume and surrounded by additional display material, the characters stood frozen in time until activated to speak. The character then burst into life to make an animated and entertaining speech. Visiting parents were free to wander and choose their speaker from a startling array of ‘living statues’ on display! From Sir Edmund Hillary to Cleopatra, JRR Tolkien to Frida Kahlo, Erno Rubik, Helen Keller, Julius Caesar, Marie Curie and many, many others; there was enough information to create an entire wikipedia!

This proved to be a most entertaining afternoon for all who attended but aside from the entertainment and the fun of dressing up, there were also some important learning outcomes to be achieved. Every year the students are involved in speech competitions as part of the English curriculum. Recognising the importance of presentations in the business world, opportunities such as these help prepare our young men and women for future roles. Today’s presentation gave the students sound practice to sharpen and hone their oral language skills, voice projection, stance, eye contact and memory - all attributes that the students were being assessed on.

With each retelling, students became increasingly more confident in their delivery, transforming each classroom into a showcase of famous people… and talented students.

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