On Tuesday, Nov. 11, the entire KO community gathered in Roberts Theater for the annual Speakers’ Forum assembly with sophomore Noa Taback taking first place for her reading of an excerpt from “The Book Thief.”
The Speakers’ Forum is an opportunity for sophomores to get up in front of their English classes and do an interpretive reading of a passage from a book aloud. Peers vote for the best of the class, who then go on to semi-finals. During semi-finals, a range of judges, including both students and teachers, are brought in to vote for the top readings. Finally, the last five students after the semi-finals move on to the finals, in front of the whole school.
During the semi-finals, on Monday, Nov. 10, 16 sophomores read to a panel of judges. The judges were English teacher Megan Hilliard, retired history teacher Ted Levine, math teacher Jimmy Oxsalida, retired English teacher Lynne Levine, Head of the English Department William Martino, Director of Academic Planning Carolyn McKee, senior Miles Gruber, and junior Lei Gonzalez.
One student who made it to the semi-finals was sophomore Emma Davis. She chose to read “The Thing About Jellyfish” by Ali Benjamin, a book she often found herself rereading as a young kid. “I really connected with the book,” she said.
Emma spent lots of time putting in the effort to practice her piece. “I practiced in front of my friends and family, I videotaped myself and would just listen to the pace of my reading,” she shared. “I also practiced facial expressions and the tone of my voice…I practiced everything you could possibly think of.”
There are many important things to keep in mind during the Speakers’ Forum. The judges look out for pieces and readings that stand out. “I think that the introduction is so important to understand not only what they’re about to read, but also the personal connection to it,” Ms. McKee stated. “I also think it matters what the connection is to the material.”
Lots of criteria stood out to the audience, especially “Polish and Familiarity with Work.” “The number of students who I think had genuinely memorized their pieces was even higher this year,” sophomore English teacher Cathy Schieffelin shared. “They were able to really embody characters. If they were in first person, they had a really genuine grasp of what the piece was about, the character’s emotions, and the importance of the piece.” Ms. Schieffelin also shared that voice quality is a part of understanding the piece and a big thing that judges look out for.
The top five to move to finals on were sophomore Noa Taback reading from Marcus Zusak’s “The Book Thief,” sophomore Lilly Jacobson reading from Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s “The Yellow Wallpaper,” sophomore Nadia Silmon reading from Gillian Flynn’s “Gone Girl,” sophomore Julia Atanasio-Villa reading from Lois Lowry’s “The Giver,” and sophomore Rhea Doshi reading from Jhumpa Lahiri’s “A Temporary Matter.”
As one of the finalists, Lilly shared that she chose her piece because she loved the suspense and thought it would entertain the audience. “It’s about a woman who is struggling with her mental health, and I know a lot of people listening might identify with that,” she said.
After the five finalists read during the assembly, it was announced that Noa won first place. Noa’s piece was strong and full of emotion, earning her first place. Second place went to Julia, third place went to Lilly, fourth place went to Nadia, and fifth place went to Rhea.
Congratulations to everyone who participated in this year’s Speakers Forum, and we can’t wait to see the new sophomores next year take part in this pivotal KO tradition!
