Nawis Achiever's Gavel Club and Vibrant Wurood Gavel Club of Al Wurood International School organized the annual contest in the boys' and girls' section auditoriums respectively. The annual contest comprised three separate sessions of speech contests in table topic contest, international speech contest and speech evaluation contest. Boys and girls aspirants from classes V to IX participated in the intensive and experience-rich program throughout the academic year to help young people develop their speaking and leadership skills and support them to meet the demands and challenges of the present day world. The selection of the final contestants is a yearlong program resulting in various training workshops and practical sessions from a large number of students of the school. Participants learn how to prepare and present a speech, how to conduct meetings, how to evaluate speeches and develop effective listening skills. The program provides a supportive and positive learning experience in which members are empowered to greater self-confidence and personal growth. The program, which was initiated by the school and mentored by PACE toastmasters Club, the in-house Toastmasters and resource persons, is a great success. Head Master. Sunil Kumar welcomed the gathering in the boys' section. He appreciated the efforts of the distinguished Toastmaster Lakshman Sockalingam and TM Nihamathullah for bringing the leadership program to the youngsters. Sockalingam declared the contest open. This was followed by TMs Mohamed Ibrahim Maricar and Nihmathullah Lebbe speaking in general about Gavel club. Table topics contest was led by Abdul Salam in the boys' section and Sayeda Ashraff in the girls' section in which the candidates spoke on a topic given on the spot. The participants proved their critical thinking skill and expressed their vigorous ideas. The program was highly competitive and the top three winners, in that order, in the category were Gaveliers Nabeel Naushad, Siraj Thottasseri and Ebin Joe in the boys' section and Zuha Zafar Abbas, Alia and Najwa Juhana Fatima in the girls' section respectively. The international speech contest was monitored by Kassim Ismail in the boys' section and Musarrat Shariq in the girls' section with contestants speaking on a prepared topic. The selected topics touched contemporary issues and challenges of the current generation. The winners of the first three positions in the category were Gaveliers Siraj Thottasseri, Nabeel Naushad and Muaz Ahmed in the boys' section and Alia, Namita Robby and Zuha Zafar Abbas in the girls' section respectively. The speech evaluation contest was led by Jayaprakash in the boys' school and Zahra Hasham in the girls' school with participants presenting their evaluation on a target speaker. It was another interesting session that substantiated the ability to assess a speaker. The winners of first, second and third positions in the category were Gaveliers Bhajan Chand, Muhammed Zayyan and Prakash Jeyaram in the boys' section and Samreen Sayeda, Zuha Zafar Abbas and Hiba Amina in the girls' section respectively. Toastmasters Aravindakshan Menon, Ashraf Aboobacker and Ibrahim Maricar along with Dr. Lakshaman Sockalingam were present in the judging panel for boys while Dr. Kavita Muruswamy, Toastmasters Rabiya Mohideen and Sreeja Ravindran were in the girls' section. Vice Principal Bushra welcomed the gathering in the girls' section. "The Gaveliers had motivational sessions on speaking skills and opportunities to eliminate bottle-necks in the art of oratory. This session helped each and every participant to overcome barriers, be motivated and improve communicative skills," she said. Insaf Ckeekkode and Sheejamol Ashraf conducted the programs in a highly professional way in girls' and boys' sections respectively. The winners of contest were given certificates and mementos from dignitaries. The vote of thanks was proposed by Abdul Gafoor Irumban, the head master of middle school. — SG
