By: Ananya Subramaniam
The Bob Miller Speech and Debate club had their annual competition. It was held at American Preparatory Academy on Saturday, February 16, 2019. The competition was to test their skills that they developed over the school year. They meet Tuesday right after school in room 726.
The competition is divided into two separate portions. One is for the individual speakers and the other one is the schools as a whole, this is known as the ‘sweepstakes’. This year Bob Miller Middle School was not eligible for the sweepstakes on account of not having enough points which you earn from the respective students.
The forensics teacher, Mr. Andrew Rowell said, “Judges are looking at everything from the content of what the speaker presents to the use of strong voice, physical expression, injection of reason and emotion, and the inclusion of proper poise and good logic. Following protocols for professional and sportsmanlike behavior is also an important component of the assessment criteria. "Mr. Rowell has been the speech and debate teacher for three years. Tristan Poppy, 8th grader and Speech and Debate club member, won 2nd place in an event called Humorous Interpretation. “The hardest part of Speech and Debate is saying your speech in front of people so you might stutter or mess up which in turn makes you nervous,” said Tristan.
Britney Johnston, 8th grader and team captain, won 1st place in an event called Impromptu. “Being captain is a great way to build up leadership skills and it’s very uplifting to teach others new ways to speak confidently,” said Britney. “By far the hardest part, not just for me, but most kids is to actually have the will to get up there and speak to an audience of students. Yet once you are more confident, it comes with ease.”
Speech and Debate club plans on hosting Miller’s 3rd annual speech and debate tournament at the end of April.
Photos by: Ananya Subramaniam
Tristan Poppy, 8th grade (right), 2nd place, Humorous Interpretation.
By: Demi Lira
This year Bob Miller’s Science Olympiad team competed in the state championship at Hyde Park Middle School and won first place.
“They brought back too many medals to count!” said Mrs. Khachikian, a sixth-grade science teacher and one of the advisers for the Science Olympiad team.
This was the third year that Bob Miller has competed. The competition itself has been going on for twenty-five years.
To get into Science Olympiad, students must take an entrance exam to make sure they are qualified to be in the competition. During the competition, each student has three to four different events to compete in. Such as labs or building challenges, the students have to be prepared to solve any problem and answer any question. This is a challenge for the students.
Photo by: Mrs.Khachikian
The members of Science Olympiad