Inner West Eisteddfod High Achievers

A huge congratulations to 24 of our Speech and Drama Studio students who represented MLC School last weekend at the Inner West Eisteddfod in the 6-10 years categories. Sections included set poem, set nursery rhyme, verse speaking, humorous recitation, set prepared reading, duologue in costume and group improvisation. Whilst a number of our MLC School speech and drama students achieved  1st, 2nd and 3rd  place and Highly commended awards, we are more focused on the experience rather than the result. Every single student performed with confidence, focus and energy. We are proud of each student for daring to be more, by challenging herself to strive for excellence in her Eisteddfod piece and being fearless performing in front of an Adjudicator and audience. The students really enjoyed the experience and are already excited about next year’s Eisteddfod!

We are looking forward to this weekend’s Eisteddfod with our 11-12 year old sections.

Congratulations to the following students:

  • Tara Kuhan (Kindergarten) – set poem and set nursery rhyme
  • Amanda Zhang (Year 1) – set poem and set nursery rhyme
  • Leanna Shen (Year 1) – 2nd place in set poem
  • Annika Bou (Year 2) – set poem
  • Catherine Coorey (Year 2) – verse speaking, Encouragement Award
  • Eve Hutchison (Year 2) – verse speaking
  • Victoria Wai (Year 2) – verse speaking
  • Vivienne Woon (Year 2) – set prepared reading
  • Estella Tran (Year 2) – set prepared reading
  • Mariette Karam (Year 3) – 3rd place in Humorous Recitation
  • Claire Liang (Year 3) – Highly Commended in Humorous Recitation, Highly Commended in verse speaking
  • Abira Sanan (Year 3) – 2nd place in verse speaking
  • Hayley Trinh (Year 3) – verse speaking
  • Olive Simmons (Year 4) and Anastasia Countouros (Year 4) – 2nd place in Duologue in Costume
  • Amara Sivaguranthan (Year 4) and Jasmine Chib (Year 4) – 1st place in Duologue in Costume 
  • Aurora Sharma (Year 4) and Layla Abdelrahim (Year 4) – Highly Commended in Improvisation
  • Jenny Lin (Year 4), Anna Poortvliet (Year 4) and Jaya Mehta (Year 4) – Highly Commended in Improvisation
  • Jasmine Chib (Year 4) and Jaya Mehta (Year 4) – Highly Commended in Improvisation
  • Katie Goldring (Year 5) and Adelaide Akers (Year 5) – Duologue in Costume

Reflections

‘IWE is one of the venues that the girls can try to show their confidence and their love of performance. As a parent, the most wonderful thing to see at the IWE was how the MLC School girls encourage each other and dare to be more! Thank you to MLC School Speech and Drama Studio Team for bringing up these brave little girls!’ – Dao Coorey, Year 2 Parent

‘I am so happy I actually did my poem at the eisteddfod. It was a lot of fun watching the big MLC School girls competing.’ – Tara Kuhan (Kindergarten)

‘We participated in the Inner West Eisteddfod. My friend Jasmine Chib was my partner. We learnt a scene called NO TEACHERS! It was so much fun with Miss Taylor I could not wait to do it. On the day of the Eisteddfod I was really scared but when I got on the stage I was ok and enjoyed it. We WONNNNNNNN!, we were so happy and we couldn’t believe it.’ – Amara Sivagurunathan (Year 4)

‘Last weekend I participated in the Inner West Eisteddfod in Speech and Drama. As it was my first time performing in front of the audience and adjudicators, having fun and learning from my peers is my main aim. When waiting for my turn for the competition in the venue, I tried to keep myself relaxed and think repeatedly the key matters that needed my attention. When my name was called out, I walked onto the stage confidently and performed my poem brilliantly. Thanks to Ms Fort’s dedication, enthusiasm and guidance, I got 2nd place in the set poem category of my age group. I think it was a good start and a valuable experience to me on the road of learning in speech and drama.’ – Leanna Shen (Year 1)

‘I was brave to speak to the parents. I was brave to recite the poem “Uh-oh” to the audience. I was happy to go through the rehearsal. Thank you to Ms de Marco and Ms Brian.’ – Cathy Coorey (Year 2)

‘My favourite part about the Inner West Eisteddfod is that I get to watch a variety of fun poems performed by children from other schools. Although performing in front of strangers can be a bit scary, it is a lot of fun!!’ – Abira Sanan (Year 3)

‘In my first experience I felt nervous and there were huge butterflies in my stomach. While I performed there were many people laughing and enjoying my performance. I felt brave and happy as I was performing. I can’t wait to do it again!’ – Jasmin Chib (Year 4)

‘It was very scary when I walked up to perform because I had to say my line first but when I started to talk I got less scared. It was very fun to do and entertaining. Watching the other performers was like watching a movie because they were so good.’ – Olive Simmons (Year 4)

‘It is always nerve racking at the start, but it builds to excitement especially when I am on stage. It becomes fun and always a good experience.’ – Mariette Karam (Year 3)

‘Olive and I competed in the Inner West Eisteddfod. Our script was called the The Mad Tea Party, from Alice in Wonderland. We practised so hard and put a lot of effort in and we did our personal best. We came second place with a score of 93% and also won best costume.’ – Anastasia Countouris (Year 4)

– Monica Brian
Director, The Speech and Drama Studio

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