Summit Academy student Ellee Glissmeyer was in the finals of her school’s speech and poetry festival. She stood on the auditorium stage in front of her schoolmates ready to recite.

“I’ve done this a couple times, but I’ve never won,” she said. “I love performing and how one thing can change a whole experience with other people.”

Even so, Ellee was nervous.

“It only happens once every year, so I wanted to be the best I can be,” she said. “Acting just makes me feel happy. It makes me feel like I'm part of something and that’s special.”

Alongside her on stage, were other fifth- and sixth-grade students. The contest was open to students, with the competition judged by like grades. Each student recited a piece for one to three minutes in front of four judges who evaluated them for content, voice, poise and memorization.

Students rattled off excerpts of their choosing — the Gettysburg Address, “Hamlet,” Lou Gehrig’s farewell—or they selected pieces by authors such as Richard Kipling, J.J.R. Tolkien, Kenn Nesbitt, Lewis Carroll, Dr. Seuss. 

Principal Lindy Hatch said it’s a tradition since Summit Academy opened.

“It allows students to shine,” she said. “Sometimes we see the students who might not shine in academics be able to have a place on stage. We're all about growing all children so it allows us to grow the children in areas that they can succeed.”

Students begin choosing and memorizing their poetry or dramatic pieces in February and then, classroom competitions are held about one month later, Hatch said.

“They get time to practice it and memorize it, which ultimately increases their capacity with their short-term memory. And that's the thing—they will always remember these things,” she said.

Six oratory and six drama students are selected per grade to advance to the finals on stage, Hatch said.

“This year we had a couple of fifth graders who wrote their own poems and wrote their own monologues do a great job. We haven't had students in those grades do that in the past; normally, they just recite poems,” Hatch said.

Ellee was one of those students.

“I wanted it to be special,” she said.

Grace Sealy also wrote her own piece. 

“I love the series Warrior Cats,” she said. “It leaves so many open possibilities to go on a new storyline. So, I decided, why don't I do that. I decided to go with the Dark Forest storyline. The Dark Forest is basically the bad place of Warrior Cats so a lot of evil resides there, and I could use my imagination to explore that. I love writing and I think it's a strong skill to be able to recite what you've written.” 

Both girls practiced speaking slowly and clearly every day leading up to the competition.

“I was really nervous because my poem seemed shorter than a lot of others,” Grace said. “A lot of people were messing up, so I felt bad for them. I’ve done this so many times, but it's still kind of freaks me out. There’s the bright lights and the other competitors, but you just have to go for it. And when you're done, it feels great.”

Ellee said it’s hard to compete against her friends.

“We’re all trying to do our best and I don’t want anyone’s feelings hurt. This is just something we love to do so I’m excited about the showcase since it’s not a competition,” she said.

New this year was a showcase of the top school winners, who returned to the stage once again.

“It’s an opportunity to celebrate and share the students’ work with the community,” Hatch said.

The festival is something former eight-year principal Bob Zentner, fondly known as “Mr. Z,” saw value in.

“I could see the growth in students and how much it did for student learning,” he said. “Our teachers were excited for it and our parents valued and saw the importance of the event.”

Zentner, who now serves on Summit’s board of education, returned to his former school to judge the contest. He said each judge took a different category to evaluate.

“The competition was close, so it was good we just focused on one skill. I picked voice and looked specifically at their expression,” he said. “It’s just fun to see how well the students do, how they push themselves, how hard they work, how excited they are to learn.” λ