So far, I have had the pleasure of attending several Senior Speeches this fall. Watching your sons and daughters deliver with such clarity and poise is affirmation that we do provide all students with the opportunity and support required for them to reach their own individual best. Take a moment, and watch two seniors deliver their Senior Speech.
Senior Speeches are the culmination of opportunities our students enjoy to develop strong presentation skills – one of the essential skills for success in the 21st century.
Starting in the Preprimary and Lower School, “Show and Tell” is just the beginning. Learning the art of public speaking, as well as how to listen, spans all grade levels, concluding with the Lower School Moving Up Ceremony, where each student shares his or her favorite memory with the audience. The JK Snow Ball and fourth-grade Art Museum Docent Day are two examples along the way. By Middle School, the eighth-grade science fair and National History Day, together with the Middle School Drama program are key components of helping students acquire these all-important communications skills.
All of these experiences prepare students for the much-anticipated Senior Speeches. The Program requires each student to present a five- to seven-minute speech in front of the entire Upper School on a topic of importance to him or her. The presentations are a major rite of passage in the Upper School. During the time it takes for our freshmen to arrive at the podium during their senior year, they will have heard more than 350 Senior Speeches covering a variety of topics.
