LYNNWOOD — The winners of Alderwood Middle School’s Oratory Competition received a standing ovation last week after performing famous speeches in front of the Lynnwood City Council.
The four eighth-graders’ deliveries of Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech, excerpts from the Declaration of Independence and Abraham Lincoln’s “Gettysburg Address” stood out amongst their peers during a competition earlier this month.
The 10th annual American Ideals Oratory Competition was held June 2 at Alderwood Middle School.
Roshae Lowe took first for performing excerpts from the Declaration of Independence, Ty Peddycord for “Gettysburg Address” and Samer Kouttainay and Nico Malig tied for first for their recitations of “I Have a Dream.”
The students were judged on seven criteria, including memorization and body language.
Fifteen students competed in front of a panel of judges. Judges included state Sen. Paull Shin, Lynnwood City Councilman Loren Simmonds, Edmonds School Board member Susan Paine, Dick Jansen of the Alderwood-Terrace Rotary Club and Jim Menzies of Pemco Insurance. The competition was open to Alderwood students.
Sarah Treworgy, social studies teacher at Alderwood and competition coordinator, said the program unifies the students, which can be tricky with roughly 850 students enrolled at Alderwood Middle School.
“We’re packed; we have all walks of life here,” Treworgy said. “This really brings the kids together.”
Treworgy said teachers take a variety of approaches to help their students memorize and perform the speeches they’ve chosen. Some teachers incorporate public speaking into their curriculum. Others offer extra credit to students who participate in the competition.
“Some kids are really taken by this,” said Treworgy, who has observed students carrying their speeches at lunch and heard them reciting the words to themselves in the halls.
Treworgy requires her students to perform their speeches in front of the class as a way to boost their confidence.
She remembers a year when one of her soft-spoken students performed her speech in front of her peers.
“She got to the front of the class and turned into a different person,” Treworgy said.
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