SCHOOL NEWS from Edgerton Public School
After ending our Speech season in March last year, when the world shut down, I had a suspicion that MSHSL and Section 3A would require “virtual” meets.
As the season began in December, we were all still hopeful that speech would be able to begin meeting in person, because that is the fun part of it all. Finally in January, prior to the first meet, we were told that many of the meets would be pre-recorded videos, instead of virtual live.
In all, there are usually 10-12 meets per year, and our team, which became smaller due to COVID, made it to five. Section 3A usually has hundreds of competitors, and we were half as mighty this year. I specifically feel sorry for the seniors, who chose not to compete this year, as they lose out on that last chance to make it to our state competition.
Although the meets looked different, Shai actually liked the option of being in our school, where we know what to expect, without all the crowds of a usual meet. Instead of being in area schools with all the area competitors, once the round opened, Shai performed in Mrs. Malady’s classroom, to a crowd of blank video screens. Shai made it to the section tournament this year, with a 5th place award at sub-sections. This is her first year making it to the section tourney.
Kendall was able to come in before and after school to practice, but she also practiced much on her own. At many of the meets, she performed against the same speakers. Giving her speech on Saturdays in Mrs. Gunnink’s classroom was certainly different from the regular meets, but it still gave her an opportunity to earn 5th at sub-sections, and be able to compete at sections.
We are hopeful that next year there is a sense of normalcy returned not only to schools, but also to speech. Ending our season with only two speakers is not normal, even for our small team, and even though it was “virtually” impossible to compete normally, the team still made it to the end of the season.
