Melhuish Speeches

27 April 2018Grace L, Allard ‘19; Photo by Jim Ganley

For the past month, every Brentwood student has brainstormed, drafted and delivered a persuasive speech in their English classroom. Named after longtime English teacher and Houseparent, Ms Beth Melhuish, this is an annual event. The final round of the Melhuish speeches took place at assembly on April 19th, with one person from each grade presenting their speech. The speeches, showing precocious talent, ranged from informative to humorous. The first speech, brought to us by Callum M, Ellis ‘21, was on why the pipeline in British Columbia should not be built. It was followed by a solemn and controversial speech about why Quincy E, Privett ‘20 thinks euthanasia should be legal in the United States. Abdullah H, Whittall ‘19 lightened the mood of the theatre by bringing on a comedic speech about the “infectious disease” which he identified as Brentwood day students. When asked about his experience, Abdullah said: “As you can probably imagine, presenting anything in front of such a large audience can be quite a nerve-wracking and surreal experience but I think the nervousness I felt on stage helped me deliver my speech more distinctly as it was a more emotionally charged piece. As to what inspired me to write the piece, I have quite a few day student friends and my speech was a way to poke some fun at a familiar group of people in order to satirize the relationship between boarders and day students.” Julia S, Alex ‘18 ended the Melhuish speech contest with an insightful piece about how gender often affects self confidence. The speeches truly impressed and touched the audience, and the speakers transcended what is usually expected of their age by courageously discussing issues that are controversial and relevant in the world that we live in today. Grace L, Allard ‘19

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