Schools

Grover Cleveland Middle School Students Earn Top Spots At Forensic Tournament

'Practicing to compete in an interpretive reading competition takes a lot of dedication and hard work.'

Twelve students from Grover Cleveland Middle School student came back with three trophies from the recent Interpretive Reading Forensic Tournament in Chatham. 

On Dec. 7, students from Caldwells students traveled to Chatham Middle School to participate in forensic tournament run by the New Jersey Drama and Forensic League. Designed to get students interested in public speaking and to award those who show excellence in speech, the competition, also enhances students’ public speaking knowledge and skill.

“Practicing to compete in an interpretive reading competition takes a lot of dedication and hard work,” said Claudia Douris, a teacher at Grover Cleveland Middle School and forensic team coach.

“The students work very hard to perfect their performances, practicing their presentation techniques for months at a time. These students really rose to the challenge.”

There were 12 school districts participating in the event. Representing Grover Cleveland Middle School were eighth-graders Stephanie Eckhardt and Ben Mulick, seventh-graders Julia Tuck, Natasha LaChac, DeeAnna Meluso and Jessica Rizzo, and sixth-graders Connor Padover, Ben Kopen, Isabel Caravella, Laria Bryant, Chloe Cordasco, and Anya Bargielski.

The Caldwells middle school swept the competition, earning the top three spots. Tuck earned first place in the competition, with LaChac taking second, and Meluso and Rizzo tying for third.


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