With finals coming up, the Chinese Speech Competition is one of the most exciting events for 8th graders. The event was held on Jan 7th, with 10 presenters enlisting in the final round. We were honored to have guests, Mr. Lv and Ms. Nuo as the guest speakers of the competition, among the two student judges and numerous teacher judges. The event began with an opening from the host, who introduced the judges, participants, and topics of the speech contest.

The audiences were introduced to a world of natural wonder and philosophy as students from S level brought forth their illustrious speeches for the first topic: “The Secret Garden”. Observing from the point of view of a bee, William from class 8-8 presented the endearing qualities of this seemingly small creatures. It is quite interesting to know that despite the daily “annoyances” caused by the bees, humans would not have the world we know now, with the magnificent bouquets and the rich taste of honey, without them. Followed up was Eric, who presented the story of a vine as it seeks to reach the sun. On its way, the vine encounters obstacle after obstacle, yet it never once gave up. After years of never-ending faith and hard work, it finally reaches the top of the tress—only to find that there’s so much more to the world than just a tree that’s blocking its way. The vine has an entire forest waiting for it to climb. Then the 3rd presenter, Joy from 8-7, illustrated for us the story of a cypress tree. She reflected on what has been seen from the point of view of the sagely plant, over hundreds of years. It was an enchanting story of generations of war, peace, and humanity. Last but not least, Benjamin brought an ant to the spotlight of the stage, metaphorically. In his story, the ant has committed suicide after it lost all interest in life, finding it pointless. Fortunately, an angel was able to change its mind, and the ant was revived as it discovers the wonders of life again.

“Us, The New Generation” was the topic for participants from H level. A diversity of ideas were introduced by the presenters, and all of them had given the audience moving insights into the thoughts and lives of us, the new generation. Ryan had introduced the generation born after 2000 as a “lucky” generation, born in the “right time, right place, and with the right people”, analyzing the generation from a completely new perspective. Cheryl delivered a well-structured speech that defined this generation as one that’s open to infinite possibilities. According to her, the children have the right to choose the life they want to live and live the life that they want to love. All in all, “if you can dream it, you can do it”. Yet with all the opportunities laying ahead of us, comes all the responsibilities waiting for us. In her speech, Norah called for understanding from the previous generations and pointed out that the generation born after 2000 isn’t all carefree and lucky as people thought them to be. She conveyed her thoughts of millions of teenagers from around the world, telling the audience that sometimes the possibilities and opportunities can become a burden too when it leaves no space for us to choose. Ashly clarified the misunderstandings and stereotypical tags given to the generation-Z. Indeed, everyone has their responsibilities to take, and the process is never easy. Yet this generation is never known as giving up easily, said Yolanda in her speech. She suggested that this generation lives passionately and treats the world with sincerity. They are not afraid to chase after their dreams and never back down from any passage to freedom. This was later agreed by MinHan, as she identified the courage and desire for freedom among the generation.

The event was brought to the end after constructive speeches from both honorable guest speakers and an exciting round of lucky draw.

(Written by 8 (7) Evelyn Supervised by Mr. Key Pictures by Photography group: 8 (7) Coco, Jasmine, 8 (8) Rachael)