Public Speaking Polar Bears

Over the Winter break, we will be offering a two-day course that introduces students to the legal world through Mock Trials!

The modern courtroom, with its barristers, objections and evidence, is somewhat of an enigma to the average school student – despite the fact it makes up one of the three branches of the Australian Government.  Our Mock Trial workshop seeks to dispel the myths perpetuated by the Boston Legal type shows, and show students what it is really like to practice as a lawyer in an Australian courtroom, all the while providing students with the opportunity to role-play the different characters that are necessary to keep the justice system running.

This workshop gives students the opportunity to take on a range of roles in a mock courtroom and teaches them public speaking from a new and novel perspective!

Our Public Speaking Polar Bears workshop is a mixed-experienced program.

It is designed primarily for students in High School who have been exposed to public speaking at school, but want to dive deeper into how it works. It is perfect for beginners and experience students alike (including students who have completed the program before), with coaches ready and able to extend students who need an extra push.

If you’re not sure whether your child would be better suited for our Public Speaking Polar Bears, Public Speaking Honeyeaters, Debating Hummingbirds, Debating Hawks or Practice Debates programs, please get in touch, and we would be more than happy to discuss it with you!

Check out our video on what to expect at our in-person holiday workshops below!

During the Mock Trial workshop, students will:

• be shown elements of the Australian legal system, with a particular focus on the justice system;
• learn what the different roles are in the courtroom and how they interact; and
• have the opportunity to take on those roles and participate in a mock trial of their own.

Fundamental Concepts

The program starts with a succinct (but necessary) revision of the essential concepts covered in our introductory-level programs, including audience engagement and speech structure. This helps set students up for the rest of the program and ensures that everyone starts on a similar level, even if they’ve not undertaken an SSA program before.

The Australian Legal System

Students are then taken through discussions of the legal system generally, which leads to further conversations about how courtrooms operate. With a more thorough understanding under their belt, students then consider how mock trials function and the information they’ll need to conduct one of their own later in the program.

Importantly, this isn’t just focused on theory – there are plenty of activities to help break things up, apply their knowledge and keep things fun!

Our Own Mock Trial

With this theory under their belts, the remainder of the workshop places the focus clearly on preparing and presenting a mock trial. Students are given plenty of time to prepare with coach assistance, and have the opportunity to do a complete Mock Trial with their coach presiding.

The program then finishes up with a range of activities to help consolidate students’ understanding of the legal system!

Our classes vary in size every holiday depending on how many bookings we receive – however, the maximum size of our Public Speaking Polar Bears class is 9 students with one coach.

If there aren’t any spots left, it’s usually because we’ve hit capacity – please get in touch with us and we’ll see what we can do about either opening an extra class, fitting your child into the existing class, or putting you on a waitlist in case any students pull out!

After each program, students will go home with:

• a feedback sheet prepared by their coach (which will be emailed through), outlining what they’ve improved on during the course, and what they could continue to work on in the future;
• a certificate recognising that they have completed the Public Speaking Polar Bears workshop;
• a completed coursebook that contains all of the theory they’ve covered, as well as any notes that they’ve taken; and
• a much better understanding of a specific skill associated with public speaking!

If you’re interested in doing another holiday workshop, we would recommend that students move on to either:

• our Public Speaking Polar Bears workshop again – the program changes every holiday, so students will learn something new every time they complete it; or
• if your child is looking for something different, either our Debating Hummingbirds (for beginner debaters), Debating Hawks (for intermediate debaters) or Practice Debates (for more advanced debaters) would provide a new challenge!

Alternatively, if you’re looking for a weekly term program, we offer:

• Public Speaking Penguins, which takes Year 5 – 7 students through various different public speaking skills each term;
• Debating Parrots, a mixed experience class that introduces students in Years 5 – 7 to various different elements of debating;
• Debating Pandas, an intermediate-level group that takes students in Years 6 – 8 through a range of more advanced debating concepts;
• Debating Club, a more advanced class for Year 7 – 10 students to practice their skills each and every week.

Check out our Frequently Asked Questions, or get in touch using our contact form to learn more!