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NEWS Release

Winners of 1-Minute Talk Statewide Contest 2003
Hail from Hull, Worcester and Whitinsville

BOSTON: 03/30 --The Boston Public Library was the site of the Finals of the 1-Minute Talk contest sponsored by Speaking American, a non-profit organization to promote Public Speaking in Massachusetts starting at Grade 3! Students talk for a maximum of 60 seconds before a live audience without notes or index cards. The contest is statewide. Grades 3-4-5 and 6 are eligible.

Forty eight (48) students participated at the school level and gave a 1-Minute Talk on this year's required theme: Collectibles-- What I Collect and Why?  

Speakers and  Collections

Nicole Ford, Grade 5, shows favorites of her Beanie Baby collection during her 1-Minute Talk.

 


Matthew Kane comes forward to receive prize for Grade 4 from Ms. Wolf. In the background the Judges, Courtney Carson and Larry Hawkins, look on.
 

Winners

Grade 3: Ricky Housley for Collecting Dust;
Grade 4: Matthew Kane for his Video Collection; and
Grade 5: Jonathan Febles for his Commemorative State Quarters.

Prizes

Each winner received a Delux State Quarters Folder with a crisp Abe Lincoln five dollar bill ($5.00). A congratulatory note included a quote from Lincoln's Gettsburg Address (1863) and a reminder about the value of time, money and US history as we partake in the year 2003.
A parents' prize, awarded by random selection, went to Ricky Housley's parents.
A teacher's prize went to Tania Phillips of the South Shore Charter School by random selection also.
The parents' prize was a book compiled by the Antiques Roadshow which has been a popular TV show. The teacher's prize included two (2) free admission tickets to the impressive exhibit of the Mapparium donated by The Mary Baker Eddy Library for the Betterment of Humanity located in Boston.

Proud to be an American

Ms. Heidi Wolf, Founder of Speaking American, spoke to the group about the widespread interest of Americans in Collectibles. She said, "We have all become 'collectors' in a sense this month as clusters of words and phrases emerge to describe the USA and its war effort." She said, the collection of words includes: "shock and awe," "target of opportunity," "biochem," "liberation-- oui ou non?" and "massive press coverage." The audience added more words to the collection and students added comments to the existence of "active duty mammals" trained by the Navy to assist in detecting underwater mines and identifying their location.

Ms. Wolf, suggested a 1-Minute of silence for the audience to reflect on war and peace, the men and women who are US soldiers and veterans of all USA wars and what it means to be a proud American.

1-Minute of Silence Observed

Jonathan Febles and Steven Yu, both Grade 5, join audience in a minute of silence to think quietly about the war and hopes for peace.

Participating Schools

The schools participating in 2003 included: South Shore Charter School (SSCS), Burncoat Preparatory School (Worcester) and The W. Edward Balmer School (Whitinsville). Each student who presented a 1-Minute Talk receives a Certificate of Participation for their public speaking effort.

Special Thanks

Speaking American would like to thank the Boston Public Library for making space available for our Public Speaking event. And we are delighted also to have this opportunity to help people from outside of Boston to get to know this historic library. Also, we want to thank Kathleen Doran (BU '03) for the photo coverage of the Spring 1-Minute Talk Finals for 2003.

Theme for 2004 Talks

The theme for the 1-Minute Talks for Grades 3-4-5-6 will be different in 2004. The required theme is-- An American (or Americans) I Admire and Here's Why! Visit our Web site for more details and the timeline as 2004 approaches. The application form will appear online to copy or download by January 6, 2004. Join in and discover the value of 1-Minute and the power of your own unique voice.