Pass the Broom! Lower School Students Shine at Recent Tournament

Our community had good reason recently to celebrate the public speaking skills of MJS students. Our MJS Elementary Speech & Debate team participated in the SCJFL Tournament February 18 and swept the top seven in the Open Poetry category. The open categories are not a simple recitation. Each competitor had to perform his or her poem with consistent dramatic flair, enunciation and pronunciation, voice variation and projection, in three separate rounds. Mayfield students also placed in the top ten in SPAR (Spontaneous Argumentation) and Open Storytelling. The tournament was the largest elementary speech and debate event on the west coast hosting eight schools and speech academies with approximately 200 third-fifth grade students participating in Stanford SPAR, Congress, and Open Categories for poetry, informative speech, storytelling, impromptu and extemporaneous speech.

The MJS team began competing in poetry three years ago out of an interest in growing and refining the performance and public speaking skills of lower school students. As early as kindergarten, students at Mayfield learn and develop their presentation aptitude and style through stage plays, musical concerts and solo speaking opportunities such as Morning Prayer. The team, which has grown to 48 students, meets every week after school to continually improve not only speaking skills but also thought organization, gesture, listening and critical thinking.