Lower School students compete in speech contest

On March 7-9, groups of Lower School students in grades 4-7 competed in a speech contest which was orchestrated by Mrs. Fowler and judged by faculty and staff volunteers.

4th and 5th grade competed against each other on the topic: “People always say that we study history so it won’t repeat itself. In other words, we should learn from the mistakes others have made before us. Choose one event in history and explain what can be learned from that event. How can we prevent similar mistakes from being made today and in our future?”

6th and 7th grade competed against each other on the topic: “My first priority as the newly elected president of the United States would be…”

Students were judged in categories such as voice clarity and pitch, attention grabbing introduction, suggestive movement, posture, knowledge of topic, organization, eye contact, and more.

“I was so impressed with our young students,” said Jessica Van Curen, AFA Marketing and Communications, who judged both groups. “You could tell that they were prepared and that they had practiced. They were confident and did an excellent job with public speaking, one of the most difficult things for most to overcome.”

The winner of the 4th and 5th grade speech contest was 5th grader, Hans Renlund, on the U.S.S. Forrestal. Followed by Grace Vernine and Logan Martin in a tie at second place. Speeches ranged from historical events including the recent presidency, WWII, Pearl Harbor, the Titanic, the Apollo missions, 9/11, the Civil War, and the Pulse nightclub shooting.

The winner of the 6th and 7th grade speech contest was 6th grader, Jillian Aprile, on ending hunger. She will be moving on to represent Admiral Farragut Academy at the St. Petersburg Rotary Speech Contest on April 20th at SPHS.