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1 9 | Friday, Ja n u a ry 1 3 , 2 0 1 7 | OAKVILLE BEAVER | w w w .insideH A LT O N .com Every week we show case topics around town. If you happen to come across an interesting topic relevant to your community, and you have a good picture to prove it, we'll do our hest to publish it on this page. Email it to ahlackhum@oakvilleheaver.com, along with your name and a brief paragraph about why you want to share it with our readers. S E N D U S YO UR PHOTOS: W O S S T alks lis te n s to s tu d e n ts v o ic e s O n Thursday, Dec. 15 almost 50 members of the White Oaks Secondary School (W OSS) community -- students, teachers and parents -- showed their support for student voices by attending the first annual WOSS Talks. An event hosted by the school' s public speaking club, it sought to emulate the atmosphere and the style of speech popularized by the entity TEDx, where speakers share their opinions, ideas and experiences in a more personal manner. With a broad range of topics, the 13 speakers did just this, engaging the audience thoroughly throughout the evening. A slightly competitive aspect was added with the presence of judges and speakers vying for prizes. The panel of judges comprised of Ms. Nancy Davidson, Mr. David Aylward, Ms. Renata Noronha, Ms. Tisa Blackburn, Ms. Carol Deeth and Mr. Pielsticker, all with extremely rich public speaking backgrounds as Toastmasters, business executives and oratory coaches. Their comments relayed that their role was a difficult one to play as they were highly impressed with the quality of the speeches. Grade 10 students Yamini Belmonn, Marta Anielska and Aidan Campbell were awarded prizes for best overall, most passionate and most inspirational speeches respectively, and Grade 12 student Gagan Geekee was awarded the prize for the most creative speech. However, the awards were hardly the focus of the event. WOSS Talks 20 1 6 student award recipients (from left to right: Aidan Campbell, Gagan Geekee, Yamini Belmonn, Marta Anielska, Ms. Renata Noronha). Meanwhile, speakers included: speakers (from left to right: Adnan Moinuddin, Arnav Gill, Sky Kapoor, Medha Wadhwa, Ali Malik, Matias Dirube, Bilal Ahmed, Aidan Campbell, Gagan Geekee, Yamini Belmonn, Marta Anielska, Abi Sudharshan) | submitted photo As the WOSS Public Speaking Club President Abdulrahman Al Bochi said, "WOSS Talks is an opportunity for the youths to express their passions and ideas all while improving their public speaking skills. "Rarely do high school students get the opportunity to present in a professional setting in front of some of the most qualified judges. WOSS Talks is an event we hope to continue for years to come." After two months of planning, with sponsorships from Fortinos and Starbucks being obtained for refreshments, the judges being recruited, a promotional campaign, and of course, countless rehearsals of the speeches, it was gratifying for both club members, and the executives to see the event be successful. WOSS Talks was impactful on the community as well with admission being either a toonie or a canned good to benefit the Oakville Fare Share food bank donated through the school' s student council food drive. The club would sincerely like to thank all who made the event possible including the school administration, the custodial staff, all those in attendance, and especially our staff advisor Ms. Robyn Simpson, without whose efforts, the event would not have been possible. The story doesn't end here, however. As Abi Sudharshan, the club' s vice president expressed, "This year' s event was a wonderful start to a tradition; however, it is only going to grow hereafter." -- submitted by Abdulrahman Al Bochi [JP | J O H N P A L A D IN O __________________ LAW OFFICE__________________ JO H N W IL L M O T T ARCHITECT, INC. · REAL ESTATE * WILLS & ESTATES · C O M M E R C IA L LEASING · CORPORATE 447 Speers Road,Suite 200B,Oakville,ON L6K 3S7 w w w .jw architect.com I PHONE: 905-842-3311 ^ FAX: 905-842-7433 HOUSES O U R F I R S T P A S S IO N New ·Additions · Cottages · Interiors · Landscape