ARMUCHEE AREA SIXTH GRADE STUDENT WINS FLOYD COUNTY SCHOOLS’ 2023 GIFTED ORATORICAL CONTEST

(Media release from Floyd County Schools, GA):

Ellia McClain, a sixth-grade student at Armuchee Elementary School, has won the 2023 Floyd County Schools (FCS) Gifted Oratorical Contest. The oratorical event was started in 2009 to allow gifted students to display their academic skills and connect with other students. The 2023 contest was the 14th annual competition and used the speech theme “Discovering Optimism in Me”.

Gifted students competed at the school level to represent their school and advance to the system contest. The top two school qualifiers from each middle grades school participated in the system contest. The contest was coordinated by FCS middle grades district ELA coach Lindsay Norton. The contest was judged by FCS math coach Courtney Clark, FCS ESOL coordinator Dr. Jennifer Pendergrass, and FCS science coach Latasha Lampkin. The contestants were scored on poise, speech content, delivery, and overall effectiveness. The speech could be no more than five minutes.

The winners of the contest were:

Armuchee Elementary

First place: Ellia McClain, sixth-grade 

Second place: Libby Lively, fifth-grade 

Coosa Middle

First place: Aubrey Murray, fifth-grade

Second place: Ruby Hamilton, sixth-grade

Model Middle

First place: Jace Atchley, fifth-grade

Second place: Annalise Jessie, seventh-grade

Pepperell Middle

First place: Jonny Croghan, fifth-grade

Second place: Broghan Walker, fifth-grade

Overall Winners

First place: Ellia McClain, sixth-grade, Armuchee Elementary

Second place: Jonny Croghan, fifth-grade, Pepperell Middle

Third place: Aubrey Murray, fifth-grade, Coosa Middle

View images from the awards ceremony HERE.