Newsletters 2013-14 Focus newsletter, [3] spring | Page 3

PREPARING STUDENTS FOR LIFE
What most people fear, these students embrace
Blaine High School hosts State Speech Contest

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ear of public speaking is
often cited as the number
one fear in America. It
surpasses fear of heights, snakes,
spiders, and even fear of death.
National studies say 74 percent of
Americans fear public speaking.
You couldn’t tell that by the more
than 600 talented students from
around the state who braved a spring
snowstorm to gather at Blaine High
School (BHS) April 19 and 20 for the
Minnesota State High School League
State Speech Contest (MSHSL).
These students thrive on public
speaking. From their enthusiasm it
was clear that they not only take
pride in delivering polished speeches
but they also enjoy the camaraderie
of like-minded students.
Unlike other MSHSL state competitions, where bands are playing and
cheerleaders are revving up the spectators, a speech competition has an
almost hushed atmosphere. There are
few spectators. Some students cluster
in little knots talking and laughing
quietly; others pace the hallways or
stare at a blank wall while quietly
practicing. When it’s time for their
event, they go into their assigned
rooms with the other students in
their round, the doors close and they
wait quietly for their turn, listening
to their competitors and providing
polite applause at the end of each.
This year 12 Anoka-Hennepin students qualified for the competition
by winning at their section tournament in one of 13 different speech
events. Of those, three district
students made it to the final round,
each placing eighth: Rachel Rystedt
of BHS in Discussion; Kalli Doyle,
also of BHS, in Extemporaneous
Reading, and Alec Francen, Andover
High School, in Great Speeches.
Ross Eichele, head speech and
debate coach at Blaine, was proud to
host this year’s tournament. “In a
time when many districts have cut
back support of the arts, our School
Board, district administration, and
Blaine’s administration is supporting
the arts across Minnesota by hosting

the state speech meet,” he said.
“Minnesota is a very strong state for
speech. Our kids do really well at the
national level,” said Eichele. In fact, he
has three students representing Blaine
at the National Forensic League (NFL)
tournament this summer: Christian
Vasquez in Extemporaneous Speaking
and Shilvi Joshi and Bailey Rung in
Congressional Debate. They were
selected based on their performance at
speech and debate contests earlier in
the year.
It’s a long journey to this competition of top students. Most spend
virtually every weekend between late
January and the end of March at
various competitions around the
state. Some participate in more than
one event at each competition, which
gives them an opportunity to try a
variety of events to find the one that
best fits their individual strengths
and interests.
During the week, they meet after
school with their coaches, researching,
writing and re-writing their speeches
and perfecting their delivery.
Preparation varies somewhat depending on the particular events they
choose. For example, students participating in Extemporaneous Speaking,
like Vasquez, spend many hours
researching topics of national and
world significance, similar to preparation for debate. They need to be
prepared to speak on a wide range of
topics because they won’t know their
topic until the day of the contest, and
then they have just 30 minutes to
prepare a seven-minute speech.
“I spent three to four hours nearly
every day after school preparing,”
said Vasquez. A senior, Vasquez has
participated in speech every year of
high school. “Originally I hated
public speaking. My mom kind of
went behind my back and forced me
into it, but now I absolutely love it.”
Junior Lauren Hince participated
in Original Oratory, which must be
persuasive, with an eight-minute
speech on how the word love is
“misused, overused and downright
abused.” She spoke on the same topic

Are your kids looking for
something to do this
summer?

S

ummer is a great time to meet
friends, learn new things and
build on academic skills in
preparation for the upcoming school
year! The Anoka-Hennepin Community
Schools program provides a wide
variety of courses, camps and clinics
to enhance your child’s academic and
social experiences while away from
school.
Visit www.discovercommunityed.com to view classes and register
today! ■

S P R I N G

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Blaine High School’s top speech students gather at the State Speech Contest hosted
by their own school.

the whole season and had the opportunity to improve it after getting comments from judges over the months.
Before getting involved in speech, she
was like most of the population. “I
had huge stage fright when I was in
third grade. Now, I love getting up
and speaking in front of people,” she
said. “Speech is awesome.”
Senior Shilvi Joshi participated in
Great Speeches, which required
choosing a great speech and analyzing its significance at the time and
why it matters today. She chose
President Franklin Roosevelt’s second inaugural address, which was
delivered at a time of economic crisis. “He used his opportunity to help
reaffirm the American spirit and to
urge people to be confident so the
United States could survive and
thrive,” she said. She likes the competitive nature of speech and debate.
“They have helped me so much in
other aspects of my life.”
Rachel Rystedt chose Discussion,
an event in which competing students sit down together to solve a
problem related to a general topic
they have researched throughout the
season. She likes the ability to interact with her competitors and enjoys
the clash of ideas in cooperative

competition. “Occasionally we have
heated arguments, but we need to
know how to mediate them and be
respectful of each other,” she said. “I
really love the interaction with people
and forming solutions off others’
ideas. It is very applicable to real life.”
Freshman Kalli Doyle participated in the Extemporaneous Reading
event. Competitors in this event
draw three different cuttings from
well-known stories. They have
30-minutes to prepare to deliver a
dramatic six-minute reading and
they do a different piece for each
round. She was surprised to make it
all the way to the state tournament
her first year in speech and she is
looking forward to next year.
The other Anoka-Hennepin competitors were Asha Warsame and
Jacob Hanson, BHS; Maddy Thor,
Alec Francen and Maddie Morris of
Andover High School; Emily Harrison,
Anoka High School; and Alica Arline,
Champlin Park High School.
As for Coach Ross Eichele, he is
looking forward to taking students to
the NFL tournament in Alabama
June 16 through 21, then taking a few
months off before starting the next
debate season. “It is a real privilege
to work with these kids,” he said. ■

Stop the summer slide with
Summer Virtual Learning

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or the second year, Anoka-Hennepin’s Summer Virtual Learning
will be offering summer math and reading activity sessions to
students entering grades seven, eight and nine this fall. Last year
660 incoming seventh graders, approximately 40 percent, participated in
the program (piloted only to incoming seventh graders).
The results from last year’s program were overwhelmingly positive.
Participating students scored significantly higher on assessment tests in
the fall (2012) than earlier in the spring (2012), essentially maintaining
their academic gains. Studies have shown that middle schoolers are
traditionally likely to have a decline in their math and reading scores
as a result of summer break.
During Summer Virtual Learning, students work for five weeks on
daily 45-minute math and reading activities on their own. A licensed
Anoka-Hennepin teacher is available to answer questions once a week.
To ensure that each student’s varying academic needs are met, teachers
individually monitor and adjust lessons based on each student’s progress.
Access to a computer with Internet service is required to take part in the
program. Middle school computer labs will be open once a week for students
without this resource, otherwise local public libraries may be an option.
Summer Virtual Learning runs June 17 through July 19. More
information is available at www.anoka.k12.mn.us/summer2013. ■

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