Left to Right: Emma Bergeron, Madelyn Hill, Olivia Crane
On the evening of February 29th, the Madison Optimist Club played host to its 2024 chapter-level Oratorical Contest at the Madison Historical Society.
Twelve students from Madison Central School stepped forward to compete in this year’s edition of the annual contest, and were tasked with developing and delivering a 4 to 5 minute speech based on an annual theme. This year’s theme was “How to Change the World with Optimism”.
The process began in our Madison Central School classrooms, where English teacher Corey Zlatniski had his students prepare eligible speeches for an assignment. Students were asked to give their speech during class time, with each applying their own personal experiences to the assignment to create some powerful and informative speeches. Students that elected to compete did so with further guidance from Zlatniski along the way.
A familiar name topped the school-wide competition. Senior Olivia Crane built off her run to the New York/New England District Oratorical Competition from last year by placing first in this year’s chapter competition. Ninth grade student Madelyn Hill was second, and tenth grade student Emma Bergeron was third.
Olivia and Madelyn will advance to the zone-level competition to be held on Monday, March 4th at Waterville Central School. Opportunities for regional competition and international competition exist further up the ladder in this worldwide contest.