With an alumnus serving as Chief Justice of the United States, it will come as no surprise that La Lumiere School has a long history of cultivating effective communicators. The development of communication skills is a key objective of La Lumiere’s curriculum. In pursuit of that goal, students are required to participate in the Annual Speech and Poetry contest.
During the first week of February, eleven students were invited to compete as finalists in the poetry division and four were chosen to compete in the original speech division.
The poetry division contest was held in compliance with the guidelines established by the Poetry Out Loud National Recitation Contest created by the National Endowment for the Arts and the Poetry Foundation. Ming Washington, a freshman from Michigan City, won the contest and will compete at the state level on February 22. Lydia Costello, a junior from Chesterton, earned second place in the competition and will serve as alternate at the state competition. Rowena Quinn, a freshman from La Porte came in third.
Junior Ana Kleihege of La Porte won the original speech division for her speech entitled, The Power of Pictures. Assistant Headmaster Kevin Kunst noted, “Our competitors embraced the fine art of poetry and speech declamation and the power that words can have to move and inspire, and their efforts represent the spirit of excellence we consistently see from La Lumiere students.”
Poetry Out Loud Finalists
- Dany Brooks, Michigan City
- Lydia Costello, Chesterton
- Charlie Falcone, Wilmette, IL
- Hanah Fogel, Manteno, IL
- Christopher Hohman, Rolling Prairie
- Ian Miner, Ada, MI
- Rowena Quinn, La Porte
- Cora Schander, Long Beach
- Bella Schuster. La Porte
- Stephanie Zaccone, Hobart
Original Speech Finalists
- Emily Beach, South Bend
- Livia Gazzolo, Harbert, MI
- Johanna Guentert, South Bend