St. Gabriel School Speech Contest Sponsored by Windsor Jaycees

In May, St. Gabriel School hosted a Level 2 speech contest, sponsored by the Windsor Jaycees. Students from Our Lady of Mt. Carmel in Meriden and St. John School in Old Saybrook participated, along with students from St. Gabriel School. These students were the top winners from the Level 1 contest that was held at their individual schools.

The topic this year was “Challenges Youth Face”. Students talked about various topics, including social media, bullying, obesity and gun violence. Members from Northwest Catholic and the Windsor Toastmasters volunteered to judge the contest and three winners were selected. Anna Simonelli from St. John School took first place, Sophia Butkus from Our Lady of Mount Carmel took second place and Himani Patel from St. Gabriel School took third place. All students who participated spoke passionately about their topics, sharing important information about the impact their issues have on our youth, while also offering their insight and thoughts on how the youth can handle these issues.

This speech contest offers students an opportunity to develop skills in clear thinking, gain new public speaking skills and refine their research and writing abilities. By preparing and giving a timed speech on a specific topic, participants learn invaluable skills that will help with future school projects, school and job interviews and even careers.

St. Gabriel School is a PreK-Grade 8 Catholic school located in the center of Windsor. We have offered this speech contest to our students for over 20 years, enhancing our curriculum and helping students develop their self-esteem. In prior years, there were four levels to this contest, from an individual school level up to a national level, all sponsored by the Modern Woodmen of America. This organization now only sponsors the 1st level of this contest. We are grateful to the Windsor Jaycees who generously stepped up to sponsor the Level-2 contest, allowing our students to have the chance to compete against other schools. Checkout our Facebook page to see more about this Level 1 and Level 2 contest (Facebook: Saint Gabriel School Windsor CT).