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Soroptimist International of the Hills 12th Annual Public Speaking competition
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As part of Orange Blossom Festival celebrations members of Soroptimist International of The Hills held their annual public speaking competition for local high school students during September at the Glenhaven Community Centre with over 40 students from local schools participating .
There was a strong focus on education for women and girls with topics for both junior and senior sections have been chosen to build on the theme for International Women ’ s Day 2023 relating to access to digital technology .
The junior topic was – Digital Technology is developing at a rapid rate – How are these advancements impacting the youth of today ?
The senior topic was in what ways does accessible education empower women and contribute to breaking down barriers of discrimination ?
Hills Shire Mayor Councillor Peter Gangemi and State Member for Castle Hill , Mark Hodges attended and presented awards to participants and winners .
Soroptimist International is a vibrant dynamic organisation for women working through service projects to advance human rights and the status of women .
The word Soroptimist comes from
Ladies from the Soroptimist International of the Hills group .
the Latin words soror meaning “ sister ” and optima meaning “ best ”, and loosely translates as “ best for women ”.
The competition is strongly supported by teachers and is an excellent opportunity for students to try out their public speaking skills , and address meaningful topics . Winners this year were :
Junior A – years 7 / 8 : Megan Suhartono - Tara Anglican School
Junior B – years 7 / 8 : Olivia Yun - Tara Anglican School
Junior C –– Year 9 : Aarya Shah - William Clarke College
Senior A - Year 10 : Jennifer Wang - OLMC , Parramatta
Senior B – Years 11 / 12 : Shreya Mann - William Clarke College
Interested community members can find out more about our Club ’ s activities by accessing sithehills @ gmail . com , on Facebook at facebook . com / sithehills , or by contacting President , Cathy Tracey on 0435 837 118 .
4 ISSUE 100 // OCTOBER 2023 theindependentmagazine . com . au THE HILLS INDEPENDENT