On April 18, around 100 kids, teachers and parents assembled in the gymnasium at Dr. S.E. McDowell Elementary in Shawville for the annual public speaking competition.

With the large crowd in attendance, 10 finalists from grades four through six battled through all the stage-fright imaginable as they competed for the grand prize and the title of best public speaker at the school.

Around a month ago, students at the school were assigned to give two to four-minute speeches in front of their classrooms. After brainstorming ideas, coming up with a topic and presenting it, two finalists from each class were chosen by their peers and teachers to compete in the all-school public speaking competition.

Two students, Madeleine Alexander and Morgan Barr, were chosen by teachers as emcees for the competition.

To select the winners, Pontiac Continuing Education Centre (CEDEC) principal Jennifer Dubeau and Pontiac High School’s principal Debra Stephens were invited as guest judges.

Participants were marked on the delivery and the content of their speeches, grade five/six teacher Janie Crawford said.

The event is a great way to get students ready for the next step in their education and to build confidence by showing their skills to the public.

“We just think it helps them prepare for high school and post-secondary education,” she said. “And I think it’s an opportunity for students to shine in a different way. We have a lot of great public speakers and maybe that doesn’t appear in class all the time. So, it’s a great opportunity for them to speak in front of their peers.”

The finalists were Gibson Lang who spoke about the Toronto Maple Leafs; Madison Lemay on global warming; Abigail-Lilly Herault on Bikers Against Child Abuse; Jana Côté on the dangers of social media; Destinee Barber-Boisvert on autism; Jackson Knox on pandas; Cade Kuehl on cerebral palsy; Kage Labombard on tarantulas; Samuel Judd on Desmond Doss and Nathan Draper with a presentation on the Titanic.

When the judges finished tallying up the scores, Herault finished third place on the podium, while Côté finished second and Keuhl walked away with the largest prize of them all.

Participating in the event for the second year in a row, Kuehl was overwhelmed with joy upon winning it all. After working so hard on a subject that means a lot to him and his family, it was safe to say that he was proud of himself.

“It was really fun being here for the second time in a row,” said Kuehl. “The judges were amazing and the whole event was awesome. It was just amazing. I’ve put a lot of effort into this and it’s very near and dear to me so I tried my hardest.”

Kuehl’s presentation detailed the hardships that people with cerebral palsy are forced to go through, and the struggles his little sister has lived with her entire life having the condition. There was hardly a dry eye in the house, when he was done.

While not every contestant went home with a prize, each received a certificate congratulating them on their effort and participation in the competition.

The three podium finishers were awarded different sized gift bags that ranged from small, medium and large.

From left: Cade Kuehl, Jana Côté and Abigail-Lilly Herault show off their prizes and participation certificates.

Destinee Barber-Boisvert stands in front of the crowd, as she delivers her speech about autism.

Register or subscribe to read this content

Thanks for stopping by! This article is available to readers who have created a free account or who subscribe to The Equity.

When you register for free with your email, you get access to a limited number of stories at no cost. Subscribers enjoy unlimited access to everything we publish—and directly support quality local journalism here in the Pontiac.

Register or Subscribe Today!