|
Students Compete in Leadership Contests |
|
|
|
by Michele Sutton
|
|
Friday, 17 February 2006 |
FFA members from schools in Cortland, Onondaga, Cayuga & Tompkins Counties participated in Future Farmers of America (FFA) Leadership contests on February 7th at the Southern Cayuga Central School. The contests are created to challenge students in the areas of written and oral communication.
| (L to R)Kristen Tauer (Ithaca), Lauren Meador (Ithaca), Erin Smith (Newfield), Simon Horrocks (Dryden), Kerry O'Connor (Dryden), Jonathan Howe (Lansing), Elana Peterson (Ithaca) |
The crown jewel of all of the leadership competitions is the Prepared Public Speaking contest. Students prepare a 6-8 minute manuscript, memorize it and deliver it to a panel of judges where they are scored on the written manuscript, power of expression, stage presence and voice. At the conclusion, students answer a 5 minute round of questions in which their response is also evaluated. Newfield's Erin Smith placed first in a field of 12 contestants with her speech on the importance of agricultural literacy. Simon Horrocks (Dryden) spoke about some of the issues behind genetically modified organisms and placed second. Jonathan Howe of Lansing placed 4th with his speech about the methods that farmers use to control nuisance animals. Erin and Simon will go on to the sub-state competition in March. The final contest, and one that can be the most intimidating is Extemporaneous Public Speaking. Contestants draw three potential topics from a "hat", choose one and have 30 minutes in which to prepare a 3-5 minute speech. Simon Horrocks (Dryden) took first place and will represent TST BOCES in the sub-state competition in March. The next level of competition is on Saturday, March 11th in Canton, NY which will further narrow the field before the state final competition in May. FFA members from all over Central New York State who have qualified to compete will do so at this competition. It is expected that this contest will draw over 250 students from 50 schools. ----
v2i7
|
