My advocacy presentation was about the issue of youth mental health. While researching and creating the presentation, I learned that 75% of people under the age of 25 can develop a mental health problem at some point in their lives.

My group and I worked hard on our presentation and presented it to the class. However, we found out that our slides had too much text and were not engaging enough for the big night. To improve them, we spent extra time making the slides shorter and more interesting. We also created prompt cards to help us speak more freely and confidently in front of the audience.

My group worked well together and communicated by assigning different slides to each person. We also had to put in extra effort to catch up on some work that we had fallen behind on.

When it came to the presentation night, I was nervous and worried about making mistakes in front of the audience, such as stuttering, mispronouncing words, or having my voice crack. However, I pushed through my fears and did my best to make the presentation engaging for the audience.

After the presentation, I learned that I am perseverant and courageous when it comes to doing things outside my comfort zone. This was one of the most important experiences of my life because it taught me how to be more confident and stay calm when speaking in front of an audience. It is an experience that I will never forget, and I will always look back on it with pride.
Jensen Silitonga (8GLE)

For our Year 8 Advocacy Presentation, my group, which included Finn, Bentley and me, chose coal-powered electricity generation as our topic. We wanted to learn more about how coal is used to produce electricity and whether it is a good or bad source of energy for the environment.

During our research, I learned that coal is burned to heat water and create steam. The steam spins turbines, which generate electricity. I also learned that coal has some advantages because it can produce large amounts of electricity. However, it also has major disadvantages. Burning coal releases carbon dioxide and other pollutants into the atmosphere, which contribute to climate change and air pollution.

One of the biggest challenges we faced was finding reliable information and deciding what was important enough to include in our presentation. There was a lot of information about coal, so we had to select the facts that would be most interesting and easiest for our audience to understand. We also had to make sure our presentation was well organised and that everyone knew their speaking parts.

Finn, Bentley and I worked together by sharing the research tasks and helping each other create the slides. We listened to each other's ideas and made changes when we thought something could be improved. Working as a team made the project easier because we could support each other whenever someone got stuck.

Presenting in front of an audience was probably the most nerve-racking part of the experience. I felt nervous before we started, but once I began speaking, I slowly became more confident. It was also a great feeling when we finished because we knew we had worked hard and done our best.

Through this project, I learned that I can work effectively in a team and speak in front of an audience, even when I feel nervous. I also gained a better understanding of how coal impacts the environment and why it is such an important issue. Overall, this experience was valuable because it helped me develop my research, teamwork and presentation skills while teaching me more about a real-world problem.
Hayden Manning (8TRE)

My experience of the Advocacy Presentation was very positive. My group's topic was plastic pollution in the oceans, and I think we presented it well. From our research, I learned that a lot of effort is being put into reducing ocean pollution, but there are still not enough people helping with this issue.

One of the challenges we faced as a group was making our presentation long enough to reach the minimum time limit. Despite this, our group worked really well together and stayed positive throughout the project. There were some times when people were not trying as hard as they could have, but in later lessons they stepped up and contributed more. Overall, I think our group worked very well together.

Presenting to an audience was nerve-racking at first. Thinking about standing up in front of everyone made me nervous, but when the night finally arrived, most of those nerves disappeared and I was ready to deliver the presentation.

One thing I learned about myself from this experience is that I am more than capable of working with other people. I also learned that confidence is very important when giving presentations. If you spend all your time worrying about making mistakes, it can affect how well you perform. Having confidence helps you speak clearly and present your ideas more effectively.

The Advocacy Presentation taught me that I can work well in different situations and as part of a team. It also taught me how to research online and find reliable, trustworthy sources. Overall, it was a valuable experience that helped me develop my teamwork, research and presentation skills.
Aidan Steele (8BRW)

At the end of school on the day of the Advocacy Presentation, the Year 8 cohort was brought into the Veritas Centre for a meeting about how the night would run. After the meeting, we were assigned to our rooms to make any final changes and finish our presentations. Each room had one or two Year 10 mentors who helped monitor the room and make sure everything was set up properly. We spent the time practising until 5:00 pm.

At 5:00 pm, we were called into the courtyard to wait for our parents to arrive before heading into the chapel for another assembly. We sat with our parents and listened to the assembly, which finished at around 5:30 pm.

After that, we went to our presentation rooms. My room was A12. My group, which included Rohan, Charlie and me, presented on the topic of men's suicide prevention. One of our biggest challenges was memorising our notes and what we wanted to say. We decided it would be better to memorise everything rather than use palm cards, which made it more difficult at times. However, because we worked well together and practised, we were able to deliver the presentation successfully.

Presenting to an audience of parents was a little strange because I had only ever presented to students before. At first, I was unsure about it, but it ended up being a good experience and everything went fine.

Through this presentation, I learned that I am a reasonably confident speaker because I was able to project my voice clearly and speak in front of a larger audience than I was used to. This experience was valuable because it taught me how to step outside my comfort zone and not be afraid of trying something new.

At the end of the night, we got some free food, which was definitely a bonus and a great way to finish the evening!
Bellin Lin (8TRW)