Inter-Lakes Students and Staff Attend Celebration of Oratory in Washington DC

MEREDITH — Inter-Lakes School District is pleased to share that two Sandwich Central School students delivered speeches on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial and at Ford’s Theater in Washington DC as part of the national Celebration of Oratory. 

On Monday, May 6, fifth graders Thomas Porter-Zuckerman and Brooke Shambaugh, along with Performing Arts teacher and Librarian Emma Dassori, visited the Ford’s Theater in Washington DC for the Celebration of Oratory, a series of performances by student delegates on the theater stage. 

Porter-Zuckerman and Shambaugh earned the trip to Washington DC with Dassori thanks to their performances in a contest at Sandwich Town Hall in which fifth-grade students from the Sandwich Central School’s Oratory Club presented speeches to a panel of judges. 

This was the second year that Dassori was able to participate in the National Oratory Fellows Program at Ford’s Theatre, which also gave her the opportunity to bring along two student speakers.

The National Oratory Fellows is an association of teachers across the country who cultivate student voices by making public speaking a part of the classroom experience.

At the retreat in Washington DC, Porter-Zuckerman and Shambaugh participated in workshops with 16 other young people from across the country, where they focused on deepening their oratory and performance skills. Other activities included field trips to the MLK Library, the Clara Barton Missing Soldiers Office Museum, the National Museum of Women in the Arts, and the Lincoln Memorial. Students also saw the Ford Theater’s production of Little Shop of Horrors. 

Both students then performed speeches on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, and on the stage of the historic Ford’s Theater, with Dassori joining the students in presenting a speech at the theater. Dassori’s speech at the theater was entitled “Paper Sculptures.”

Shambaugh performed a speech that climate activist Greta Thunburg presented at the U.N. Climate Action Summit, and Porter-Zuckerman performed a speech by Taylor Wilson entitled “Yup, I Built a Nuclear Fusion Reactor.”

“I’m proud of these students and Dr. Dassori for engaging in this challenging and enriching experience,” said Superintendent Moriarty. “Public speaking is a critical skill, and this experience will surely help both students, as well as all those who competed locally, to continue to cultivate these qualities.”