Now I know what some of y'all are thinking. A ten year old?? Speaking in front of 250 people?? For 5-8 minutes?? Yes. And they do it beautifully and it's all because of St. George's. Even the shyest, most introverted child will stand before everyone, give proper eye contact, speak with the correct volume and pace and deliver a speech he or she wrote on their own.
I have watched this tradition for the past 12 years. I never knew how much it meant until it was my child at the podium.
Evan gave his fifth grade speech on November 16, 2018. He chose Branching Out as his topic, and his advisor was Tracy Forbes. Evan couldn't wait to get started on his speech. He and Mrs. Forbes met for weeks working and perfecting his speech.
His speech day fell on Milk and Cookies Day, which is another SGIS tradition. One day a year during Book Week, students get to wear their PJs to school, have milk and cookies, and spend a majority of the day reading.
Naturally, Evan thought he would just give his speech in his pajamas. Naturally, I did not. When discussing this with my friends over lunch one day, I seemed to be the only person who thought he should wear a suit, what boys traditionally wear to give their speech, on the 16th. Everyone else called me a terrible mother for even thinking about putting him in a suit while the rest of the school was in PJs. Well, maybe that is a tad bit dramatic...
I finally consented and thought, "Well this will definitely be branching out."
His speech was meaningful, timely, appropriate, and funny. He even managed to throw a rap in there.
As always he had a huge fan base supporting him. I hope he realizes how much he is loved. There were proud tears by many.
Evan - we are so proud of you! I pray you keep branching out for years and years to come!!
Click here to watch his speech (and watch the brothers at the very beginning...)
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