WelCom May 2022
The 2022 O’Shea Shield speech and drama competition, to have been held at Hato Hōhepa St Joseph’s Māori Girls’ College, Napier this month, has been cancelled due to Covid-19. It has been rescheduled next year at St Joseph’s.
The shield is awarded to the winner of the annual speech competition for the 17 Catholic secondary schools in Wellington and Palmerston North dioceses. The contest includes debating; scripture reading (Te Reo and English sections); junior, senior, impromptu and prepared, oratory; religious questions; and a religious drama section – a highlight performed on the Saturday evening and attended by all the other participants from the colleges taking part.
The contest has been run for 70 years and is dedicated to the memory of Wellington Archbishop Thomas O’Shea (1870–1954), a talented educator and role model for young Catholics.
The competition was also cancelled in 2020 due to Covid restrictions, so everyone is looking forward to taking part in this great tradition again in 2023.