NewsUpper SchoolStudent LifePre-K to 8ServiceAcademics
Bonnyman and Kelly win oratorical contest
Mar 9, 2005 8:00 AM
By Tannika King - Faculty
Eighth-grader Isabel Bonnyman and sixth-grader Jack Kelly were named first-place winners in the Breakfast Optimist Club Oratorical Contest this month. The runners-up were eighth-grader Alexandra Dodd, who won first-place in last year’s competition, and sixth-grader Will Thoms.
This year’s topic was “My Hero Is.” Sixth- and seventh-graders wrote papers on this topic in their English classes, and eighth-graders could do the same for extra credit. Additionally, students in the Speech/Drama activity wrote a paper.
“Anyone can enter. The first year I coordinated the competition, a sixth-grader in my class won state,” said English teacher Nancy Ivester. “To prepare for the competition, I stay after school and practice with them the week before. They also have the opportunity to practice in English class.”
Bonnyman’s speech was about Eleanor Roosevelt. “I read a book about her life when I was 7, and have been an admirer ever since,” she said. “She devoted a lifetime to humanity and accomplished so much for civil and women’s rights, even becoming a delegate to the UN.”
Kelly’s speech was about his father, Bill Kelly. “I picked my dad as my hero because he is a great guy, and I want to be like him,” he said. “It felt great to win. I couldn’t believe it.”
The competition was held on campus at the Middle School, and judges were selected by the Optimist Club. The winners will compete at the Zone Level on April 3 at Booth Museum in Cartersville. Zone winners will go on to district, then state.
“The competition is good experience for the students,” said Ivester. “It teaches them to be comfortable standing in front of a room.”
Bonnyman is the daughter of Al and Jean Bonnyman of Rome, Ga., and Kelly is the son of Bill and Mai Mai Kelly, also of Rome.
This year’s topic was “My Hero Is.” Sixth- and seventh-graders wrote papers on this topic in their English classes, and eighth-graders could do the same for extra credit. Additionally, students in the Speech/Drama activity wrote a paper.
“Anyone can enter. The first year I coordinated the competition, a sixth-grader in my class won state,” said English teacher Nancy Ivester. “To prepare for the competition, I stay after school and practice with them the week before. They also have the opportunity to practice in English class.”
Bonnyman’s speech was about Eleanor Roosevelt. “I read a book about her life when I was 7, and have been an admirer ever since,” she said. “She devoted a lifetime to humanity and accomplished so much for civil and women’s rights, even becoming a delegate to the UN.”
Kelly’s speech was about his father, Bill Kelly. “I picked my dad as my hero because he is a great guy, and I want to be like him,” he said. “It felt great to win. I couldn’t believe it.”
The competition was held on campus at the Middle School, and judges were selected by the Optimist Club. The winners will compete at the Zone Level on April 3 at Booth Museum in Cartersville. Zone winners will go on to district, then state.
“The competition is good experience for the students,” said Ivester. “It teaches them to be comfortable standing in front of a room.”
Bonnyman is the daughter of Al and Jean Bonnyman of Rome, Ga., and Kelly is the son of Bill and Mai Mai Kelly, also of Rome.
