Featured Story

Eighth Grade Declamations

S.A.
On Tuesday, May 17, and Wednesday, May 18, eighth grade students and their families gathered for St. Luke’s Eighth Grade Declamations. This Middle School milestone serves students well in their future academic and professional endeavors. Guided by Middle School English teachers Kirstie Tobler and Ty Wieland, students learn the challenges and power of a well-planned, practiced, and executed presentation. 

Below, Wieland shares more about this year’s event.

This year's program delivered an intriguing variety of writing: from speeches about heroes and issues that affect adolescent lives to moving personal narratives and poetry that vividly and precisely illuminated students’ experiences. Declamations celebrates the final stage of the writing process by publishing each student’s writing, which they diligently worked on for the past two months. Students carefully conceived, planned, drafted, and edited their ideas and words for the audience. 

Following the presentations, many people commented on the maturity of the students and the courage they demonstrated by tackling relevant and even sensitive topics. Comments such as “I was deeply moved” and “I should be taking notes, I was learning so much” were heard around the room.
As I said in my remarks that night, “sharing one’s words and ideas in written format is brave; sharing these same words and ideas in speech is courageous.”
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St. Luke’s School is a secular (non-religious), private school in New Canaan, CT for grades 5 through 12 serving over 35 towns in Connecticut and New York. Our exceptional academics and diverse co-educational community foster students’ intellectual and ethical development and prepare them for top colleges. St. Luke’s Center for Leadership builds the commitment to serve and the confidence to lead.