The Geneva School of Boerne Grammar School Speech Meet is held annually. Students in first through fifth grades choose either a selection from scripture or poetry to present at the competition. Students memorize their selected piece and present in preliminary rounds. Fifteen students in each category (scripture and poetry) advance to the Speech Meet Finals where they present in before a panel of judges, their Grammar School peers, teachers and parents. Students are awarded either a first, second or third place medal for their efforts.
“At Geneva, our ‘Portrait of a Graduate,’ among other aims is a graduate who can ‘present engagingly articulate and winsome arguments.’ In Grammar School, we train students to become orators who speak with confidence and boldness, in front of their classmates and large audiences. The Speech Meet competition is an avenue for students to hone their memorization and communication skills. Logic School builds on this through the Oratory Contest and culminates in Rhetoric School with seniors presenting a thesis which is a 20-minute oral presentation followed by a 20-minute defense in front of a panel of judges.,” Grammar School Headmaster Jessica Gombert said.
This year, more than 200 students competed in this voluntary competition and 28 advanced to the finals.
Geneva School of Boerne fifth-grader Luke Sacaris presents his memorized poem in the fifth-grade poetry competition as his fellow competitors, judges and the entire Grammar School listen intently.
Geneva School of Boerne students (l to r) Finley Huehn, Clara Higbee and Chandler Barron were awarded first, second and third place, respectively, in the fourth-grade poetry competition as Grammar School Headmaster Mrs. Jessica Gombert applauds them.