ACSI Speech Meet: Westview Elementary School

On Friday, March 13, the Worthington Christian Westview Elementary School competed in an ACSI Speech Meet against other schools, which took place at Tree of Life Christian School. The competition involved students grades one through five.

The selection process for the elementary students went as follows: students would select a Bible passage, a poem, or a fable/work of folklore and recite it to their class. The students could then choose if they wanted their speech to be judged in order to have a chance to compete in the Speech Meet. “Parent judges sat in each class and judged the students as they presented the material,” Mr. Jim Parrish, the elementary school principal, added.

The Speech Meet Coordinator was Miss Kelly Burby, a second grade teacher at Westview Elementary School.

Fortunately, the students did not have to compete against their classmates, or any other students for that matter. According to the ACSI website, “Contestants do not compete against one another; rather, they are judged against established criteria.”

Claire Dingess, a Speech Meet Alumnus who competed first through fifth grade exclaims, “I enjoyed it; it was a lot of fun! We got to miss school, and I got a blue ribbon every time!”

Students definitely enjoy being able to miss school and have fun reciting their speeches while becoming a better speaker.

The categories for the Speech Meet were Poetry, Bible Memorization, Fable and Folklore, Patriotic Oration, Dramatic Bible Prose, and Original Speech.

Many students from each grade competed. In total, forty-two students participated, all of which came from grades one through five.

The students could either get a white ribbon (good), a red ribbon (excellent), or a blue ribbon (superior). According to Mr. Parish, “All students presented their material very well. By listening to the awards, blue ribbons were earned by the majority of students from WCWES. All students did very well.”

Overall, the Speech Meet this year was fantastic. It is a competition that WCWES has participated in for years, and will take part in for years to come.