Beckwith Public School selects top public speakers
Posted Feb 25, 2010 By Tara Gesner
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Tweet ThisEMC News - Confident students from Beckwith Public School wowed judges, including Beckwith Township Reeve Richard Kidd, with their public speaking skills last week.
Approximately 26 students participated Wednesday and Thursday (Feb. 17-18) in the elementary school's annual competition. The students provided a wide range of interesting stores, ranging from a personal experience living with three older brothers, body piercings, how to prevent bear attacks, and Elvis Presley.
At the primary level (grades 1, 2 and 3) top winners entertained with their storytelling: Marla MacInnis, 8, for her retelling of 'There's A GOLDFISH in My Shoe' (gold medal), Rylie Dods, 6, for her recitation of 'Mr. Pine's Purple House' (silver medal), and Emily Doxey-Allin, 7, for her presentation of 'Guess How Much I Love You' (bronze medal).
At the junior level (grades 4, 5 and 6) the top three were Bree Lennox, Gillian Baker and Breanna Leblanc.
Earning the gold medal for delivering a personal account of living with three older brothers, Lennox, 11, said that her siblings do many good things, such as protect her and teach her stuff.
"However, they can annoy me," she laughed. "They aren't that bad. I still love them."
The silver medal went to Baker, who spoke about the King of Rock and Roll - Elvis Presley.
The 11-year-old said that she's a big fan, with her favourite song being 'Hound Dog' because it's "fun and rowdy."
"A lot of my family members are fans, so I grew up listening to his music," she said.
Bronze medal winner Leblanc's uncle is a bear hunter, and gave her a lot of "cool" ideas.
The 10-year-old, Grade 5 student said that he is the reason she chose her topic - 'How to prevent a bear attack'.
Her advice: "Bears do not hibernate so you should be very careful."
At the secondary level (grades 7 and 8) the winners were Hannah Stroud (gold medal), Nicole Whitmarsh (silver medal) and Melanie Phillips (bronze medal).
"I talked about body piercings," said Stroud, who resides in Carleton Place.
The 13-year-old, Grade 8 student said that she has her ears pierced - "that's it!"
She spoke about the history of piercing, areas of the body that individuals get pierced, why more people are doing it, as well as the associated risks, such as infection.
After Whitmarsh, 12, received a bottle of perfume from a friend for her birthday, she had no idea it would become the inspiration for her speech.
The Grade 7, Beckwith resident said that she was in her bedroom looking at the bottle when she noticed the words 'eau de toilette'.
"I was grossed out," she said. "Was it toilet water or something else?"
She set out to discover the difference between perfume and eau de toilette.
Left-handedness was the topic presented by Phillips, 12. Relatively uncommon, seven to 10 per cent of the population is left-handed.
"I am left-handed," the Grade 7 student said. "I thought it would make for an interesting subject."
According to Grade 4 teacher Lenora McIvor, "The gold and silver medal winners will go on to compete against other area elementary schools at the legion on Feb. 28."
On Sunday, the Royal Canadian Legion in Carleton Place (Branch 192) will host the annual 'Legion Public Speaking Contest', with speeches scheduled to begin at 11 a.m. The Legion is located at 177 George St.
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