Otago Southland Maori Speech Competition

A huge congratulations to both Isabella Gordon-Glassford (Year 9) and Grace Turipa (Year 13) who took part in the Otago Southland Maori Speech competition, known as Manu Korero, last Friday. The competition was held at Taieri College in Mosgiel and was well represented with a large number of Southland and Otago schools in attendance. It was the first year Isabella had taken part and she stunned the audience with her speech which she had apparently only finished in the early hours of Friday morning.  Then to go through in front of that large audience without notes;  Amazing! Grace is a seasoned performer with all things cultural and the arts, but even those of us who know what Grace is capable of, were not ready for the amazing performance that came next. Grace scored 99 out of a possible 100 points and won the Senior English Prepared Speech section. Well done to you both, a fantastic achievement!  Thanks also to the small but committed supporters from our own Kapa Haka group who attended with our two Speakers, sat with them on stage and preformed a Tautoko when they had finished speaking. A fantastic day had by all those that attended and St Peter’s certainly shone brightly among other talented schools in our region.
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Darren Jack
Deputy Principal