Public Declamations: Cluster 7-4
Today was cluster 7-4′s Public Declamations, held in the Lecture Hall, where Ms. Gomes was assisted by Max (cameraman) and Ellie (microphone). Along with the 14 students presenting, two of my advisory students were also lending their voices: Haley and Michael.
Ms. Gomes introduced the presentation by thanking Ms. Smart (METCO Coordinator) for giving students their introductory lesson on Declamations. After thanking the parents and teachers, presentation began with various students in the audience “popping out” of their seats to give a little “sound bite” related to one of their Declamations.
Before declaiming, the students introduced their selection, giving it a “time and place” so the audience would know its context before they began to speak. All students appeared quite confident, as seen in their impeccable memorization skills, smiles as befitted the character they were portraying, maintaining eye contact with their audience, and their skills with the microphone and their audience. A slideshow of all the presenters can be viewed, while below is a list of what was declaimed today along with a few key phrases for several speakers.
Thank you Ms. Gomes for all of your hard work in preparing your students. Congratulations cluster 7-4 on a job well done.
- Alex: “Give me Liberty” by Patrick Henry: “the battle is not to the strong alone”
- Lindsay: “Still I Rise” by Maya Angelou: “you may kill me with your hatefulness but still, like air, I rise.”
- Rachel: excerpt from “Thirteen Reasons Why” by Jay Asher
- Michael: “Inaugural address” by President John F. Kennedy
- Sudarsna: “Betwixt” by Tara Bray Smith
- Katie: “The Marriage” a poem by Anna Wickham: “one held my vanity, the other your sloth.”
- Sam: “These are hard times, not end times” monologue by John Stewart
- Haley: “1873 speech” by Susan B. Anthony
- Ally: “Speak Now” by Taylor Swift: “words can break someone in a million pieces but can put them back together again.”
- Dan: “1912 Speech” by Arturo Giovanitti during the IWW Industrial Workers strike in Lawrence, MA
- Lauren: A monologue from the movie “Freedom Writers”
- Spencer: “FDR Pearl Harbor” speech
- Julia: “Big French Bread” a poem by Marvin Bell: “he loves it as an old lady caring for her plants.”
- Nick: “Ain’t I a woman?” by Sojourner Truth
