By Taylor Bush

Special to The Post-Searchlight

Imagine delivering a speech that was prepared in a moment’s notice to a panel of judges and a room full of strangers. There is no time to be nervous or unsure because there are only thirty minutes allowed for using limited resources to research the given topic on which the speech must discuss.  The topic assigned may concern a number recent event that have attracted political debate in our country. This challenge is just one of the many categories competed by the BHS Literary Team.

On March 2, 2015 the Bainbridge High School Literary Team and Honor Chorus students competed in the annual literary meet. The meet this year was held at Darton College in Albany, Georgia. These students did a fantastic job competing in their specialized categories. Bainbridge High School would like to recognize these students and their accomplishments from last Monday’s meet.

Maci Barber and Quest Brown dominated in Extemporaneous Speaking which was earlier described. Speaking on radical Islamic activity in the world, Barber earned a third place medal. Brown, who addressed the issue of child labor, brought home a first place medal. Barber and Brown were allowed to use only the resources which they brought to the competition and were denied access to any use of internet. Barber expressed that she enjoyed the competition by saying that “it was a great opportunity and she thinks she will compete again next year”. The two students spoke eloquently and intelligently for over five minutes.

Sarah Michael Farrington and Joshua Davis were entered in Essay Writing. Farrington and Davis were given two hours to write a well thought out and organized essay covering an assigned prompt. This year’s prompt was to analyze a work of literature that uses betrayal to portray the work’s theme. Farrington received first place after only using forty five minutes of the given time!

Taylor Bush and Bryce Williams finished out the literary portion of the meet in Dramatic Interpretation. In this category, contestants must choose a monologue from a work of literature, memorize it, and perform it in front of a panel of judges and room of spectators. Using a monologue titled “Darkest Moment”, Bush received fourth place. Williams impressed everyone with his performance of an excerpt from the play “Bound East for Cardiff”.

The Honor Chorus received excellent marks in the choral portion of the meet. These students sang earlier prepared pieces for a panel of judges and room of spectators. In Girl’s Solo, Alexus Franklin won fourth place. In Girl’s Trio, Alexus Franklin, Tiarra Gilbert, and Brandy Hopkins received second place. Congratulations, ladies! Jacob Brown, Eiawonta Levatte, Jonah Taylor, and Terrance White did an exceptional job performing in the Boy’s Quartet category and received third place. It was a rewarding day for BHS Honor Chorus students.

Claritha Jacobs, the BHS chorus director, and Vedia Henderson, the Literary Team sponsor, accompanied the students to the meet and supported each student in their preparation and competitions. Henderson reports, “I love working with these students and seeing the talent that they have.  I hope to see more student involvement in future years so that the Literary Team and Honor Chorus can grow. Congratulations to all of our students.”

The students who earned a first place award will continue on to the state competition. BHS wishes good luck and support  to those students.