Tell me about it
By Kaeli Nallathamby, student writer; Photo courtesy of Julian Bouquet
Pictured left to right: Kaeli Nallathamby (3rd place), Maudie Stroud (1st place) and Castle Pines resident Aspen Heppe (2nd place). Each won cash prizes in the RHMS school-wide speech contest.
In mid-November, 10 students gave their all to the judges in the Rocky Heights Middle School (RHMS) “Walk the Talk” speech competition. These passionate and talented students each prepared a three to five minute TED Talk speech on a topic of their choice.
Each contestant submitted a video entry of their speech. The judges then narrowed the competition down to 10 students. These 10 students each gave a live speech for the chance to win $100 for first place, $50 for second and $25 for third. The prizes were sponsored with money from RHMS magazine sales.
Castle Pines finalists included: Aspen Heppe, Brock Martin, Cleo Melville, Davis Romero, Jacob Woods, Katie Dupper, Krish Kilari and Madeline Kasal.
The finalists met with RHMS speech teacher Judi Holst to prepare for their live performances. One by one, students entered the speech room filled with judges, friends and family. Each gave their speech then headed back into the library to anxiously await the judges’ results.
Second place winner, Aspen Heppe, spoke on “Mean Labels.” Heppe said, “Speaking lets me say my emotions through words and actions. Going into the contest was nerve-racking at first, but I calmed down once I got my thoughts together.”
Student Katie Dupper said, “I like speaking because it’s a creative outlet that is accessible for anybody and everybody.” Madeline Kasal, said, “My experience in the contest was very positive. The judges were amazing, and I loved being able to share my opinion with a group of adults.”
This contest was a great way to let all students of RHMS express their personality through speech. It also allowed students to practice their speaking skills, prepare for something bigger than themselves and meet peers with common interests.
