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Battle of the Speakers 2023

26 October 2023

Alhamdulillah – this year’s Battle of the Speakers was very successful with high quality student presenters who adopted the personalities of famous people like Nelson Mandela, John F. Kennedy, Margaret Thatcher, Mohammed Ali Jinnah, Imran Khan, Zaynab Farah, Gloria/Barbie, Greta Thunberg, David Goggin, Abraham Lincoln, Malcolm X, Mehdi Hasan, Julia Gillard, Dr Martin Luther King Jr., Muna el-Kurd, Angelina Jolie, Omar Suleiman and Donald Trump.

Battle of the Speakers 2023

This year, an audition round was done before students were selected for the event. The level of interest and enthusiasm for this event was really great.

The assembled audience was treated to an array of speakers from Years 7 to 12 – both males and females – setting a high bar and providing inspiration and motivation to many aspiring students. Staff and students reported that they were amazed at the quality of student presenters and the way the event was organised by our English and Humanities Department.

The winners/runners up were as follows:

Year 7

  • Winner: Mohaned Dao – John F Kennedy, Inaugural Address as the 35th President of the USA
  • Runner Up: Iyaaz Khan – Donald Trump, Dept of Homeland Security 2017

Year 8

  • Winner: Shafiqah A'Isha Baswedan – Dr Omar Suleiman, Reflections & Dua for Palestine
  • Runner Up: Jannah Dacre – Margaret Thatcher, Britain Awake speech

Year 9

  • Winner: Israa Baykara – Dr Martin Luther King Jr., ‘I have a dream’ speech
  • Runner Up: Heba Alrubayi – Angelina Jolie, on Women’s Protection Act

Year 10

  • Winner: Afra Shehzad – Zaynab Farah, on performance poetry
  • Runner Up: Ammar Hamida – David Goggin, on change

Year 11/12

  • Winner: Zahraa Ali – Gloria from the "Barbie" movie, on women empowerment
  • Runner Up: Badis Sai – Malcolm X

Outstanding performances also came from the following students: Ayesha Iqbal, Zainab Moola, Namrah Siddiqui, Alvia Khan, Fatima Al Jassim, Amir Tinawi, Yasmin Al-Asali, Aisha Iqbal, Halimah Sheikh and Fatimah Muhammad.

We will, inShaAllah, come back for the third time next year, with even a bigger BATTLE of SPEAKERS CONTEST.

Battle of the Speakers 2023

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  • Mohammed Azim Head of English (Secondary)Year 12A Homegroup Teacher Mohammed Azim Send email Read profile

    Mohammed Azim

    Mohammed Azim

    Head of English (Secondary)Year 12A Homegroup Teacher

    MEd (Deakin), BEd (USP), GCEdR (Monash), DipHEng (UK), CTESL (USP), DipBusAc (UK), DipCounseling (NSW), DipEdEv (USP), Cert.ITEP (Canada)

    Mr Mohammed Azim is currently the Head of English at Al ¾ÞÈéÊÓƵ ¾ÞÈéÊÓƵ. He is also the Instructional Coach for teachers in secondary school. Prior to joining Al ¾ÞÈéÊÓƵ ¾ÞÈéÊÓƵ, Mr Mohammed Azim was an English Lecturer/Curriculum Developer at Monash University's English Language Centre. He has taught VCE English, Language, EAL & Literature for over 14 years as well. He has been in the teaching profession for the past 30 years and has worked in various capacities like Head of English & Humanities, Counsellor, Senior Coordinator, Head of Teaching & Learning, Curriculum Developer, Educational Leadership and Administration Adviser, Discipline Coordinator and PD Trainer in primary, secondary and tertiary educational sectors. He is also an exam assessor for external exams through VCAA – Assessment Administration Unit.

    Mr Mohammed Azim was honoured by the Teaching Australia – Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership for National Excellence in Teacher Leadership Award in 2009. In 2011, Mr Mohammed Azim was the first Muslim teacher ever to win the National Excellence in Teaching Awards supported by the Australian Scholarship Group. He was declared as one of the teachers in the Top 10 teachers of Australia in 2011. The awards did not end here as Mohammed Azim was recognised for his outstanding service and contribution in education once again by being named in the 2017 HOT LIST OF TOP 50 AUSTRALIAN EDUCATORS by the prestigious The Educator magazine.

    Mr Mohammed Azim has a passion for action research in the areas of teacher quality, discipline, educational administration and leadership, teaching and learning pedagogies, assessment for success and innovative ways of teaching English. Currently, he teaches English at Year 9, 11 & 12 levels. Apart from teaching, he is actively involved in many community initiatives and activities that deals with families and youths.

    Mr Mohammed Azim is an advocate of the motto that ‘We rise by lifting others’. This is his passion and mission at Al ¾ÞÈéÊÓƵ ¾ÞÈéÊÓƵ.

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