This week we were enlightened by five budding orators from the Te Aroha Primary Schools all competing for the Graham Hampton Memorial Primary Schools Speech Contest.
First up was Millah Burge who asked the question ‘what happens while we sleep’ ? Why do we need it? We need a good night’s sleep to rest our tired muscles, iot also helps one remember all the things we hace learnt during the day. While you are asleep, an electrical activity called Rem or rapid eye movement begins. In our brains, there is a ’neurotransmitter’ which is a strong liquid that acts on our nerve cells. As you lay on your fluffy soft pillow tonight we need the sleep to help restore our genius thinking. Night night!
Next was Imogen Clewlow who reminded is of the problem of plastic bags and that four million New Zealanders use up to 1 million of them every year. We are causing the tragic problem that ocean and sea life are suffering. 13 million tonnes of plastic end up in our oceans around NZ and in total there are 100 million tomes of plastic in the ocean right now. It is filling up landfills and polluting the air with methane. We all need to stand up and take charge of all the plastic we use in NZ.
Then Charlotte Cummuskey spoke on the problem of Toxoplasmosis, a parasite which needs a host to survive often it originates in cats and kittens and now it is killing a wide variety of sea creatures. This disease can kill Hectors Dolphins, common dolphins, Maui Dolphins and Monk Seals. She implored us to change our behaviour in dealing with waste products of all types— not just plastic bags. “Don’t flush cat—poo down the loo.”
We are facing a global catastrophe in the form of climate change says Majella Matafeo. The new climate reality is that winds will be stronger, storms recurrent, adverse events will be life threatening, and last longer and there will be more rain. The CEO of the Metorologist Society, says our summers are becoming more extreme. Mumbai is likely to become uninhabitable so why are we not reducing our emissions. Which is causing mass destruction? We have the facts and solutions but we must wake up right now, Majella and her generation are under threat. The scientific evidence is clear if we have not taken action within a decade the world faces collapse.
Sasha Ashton Spraggon revealed that she is the oldest, the youngest and the favourite in her family. She is an only child. Her parents thought another child would be too much to handle. She thinks it was the right decision as other people have difficulty getting on with their siblings. Many people ask if I would have liked a brother or sister. Research has proved that only children do not grow up spoilt, lonely and antisocial. A one-child family is more economical and saves resources.
President Peter presents the outright winner, Charlotte Cummuskey with the Graham Hampton Memorial Trophy trophy for the year. He commented also that he
