Middle School Students Take on Social Issues in Speech Contest

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Record Number: 9827
Displayed from: Apr 15, 2013 , until: May 31, 2013
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Northwood Middle School student Tamara Djankovic won the Fort Wayne Community Schools 2013 Middle School Persuasive Speech Contest with her speech, “Ending the Death Penalty in America.”

Middle school students throughout the district competed in school-wide contests, with the winners from eight schools meeting at the finals at the Grile Administrative Center on March 26.

First runner-up was Daniel Dumford from Blackhawk Middle School with the topic “Protecting Endangered Species.” Second runner-up was Mitchell McClain from Jefferson Middle School with the topic “Mitchell McClain-Child Labor.” Other speakers were: Brendan Oechsle from Miami Middle School with “Armed Guards in Schools;” Cecelia Frankewich from Portage Middle School with “DNA Profiling;” Noel Resor from Towles Intermediate Montessori School with “Mountain Top Removal-Coal Extraction;” Audrey Scantlin from Memorial Park with “Creationism in Schools;” and Bailey Brown from Kekionga Middle School with “Veterans Deserve More. ”Shawnee’s speaker, Gabrielle Sorrell, was unable to compete.

With nearly 30,000 students, Fort Wayne Community Schools is one of the largest school districts in Indiana. FWCS proudly allows families to choose any of its 50 schools through its successful school-choice program creating diversity in each school, including some with more than 75 languages spoken. FWCS offers seven magnet schools focusing on areas such as science and math, communication, fine arts or Montessori at the elementary and middle school level. In high school, students can choose from the prestigious International Baccalaureate program, Project Lead the Way or New Tech Academy as well as other rigorous academic and specialty training programs.