They've done it again!The State Championship-winning 2011 CEHS Speech Team

By Wendy Keeler

Celebratory parades in the wee hours of Sunday, complete with Cape fire trucks and flashing lights, are becoming something of a late-January tradition to honor Cape Elizabeth High School’s speech team. On Jan. 29, team members outspoke students on 19 other Maine high school teams to win their second straight title at the Maine Forensic Association’s 2011 State Tournament, held at Maranacook Community High School in Readfield. Poland Regional High School came in second, and Edward Little High School of Auburn earned third place.

‘Spectacular season’

“This has been a spectacular season in an activity that focuses on individual growth and team achievement,” said CEHS theater teacher Richard Mullen, who coaches the team with CEHS English teacher Lisa Melanson.

At the meet, Cape speakers won and placed in many categories.

In the Extemporaneous category, Brendan Stewart earned top honors, and Emily Muscat came in fourth.

Cape also dazzled in the Ensemble category, with Griffin Carpenter, Alexander Enna, Sasha Kohan and Luke Sisselman coming in first; and Hannah Allen, Brian Nestor and Eliza Tunstall-Weiner getting second-place honors.

In Novice Poetry, Elizabeth Coughlin earned second place, and Duncan Hanrahan came in fourth. In Novice Prose, Shannon Howard received second-place honors, and Amanda Barnett came in fifth.

In Original Works, Charlotte Ruddy was second, and Sasha Kohan came in fourth. In Storytelling, Elizabeth Coughlin earned second-place honors, and Alexander Enna came in third. Griffin Carpenter was third in Dramatic Interpretation.

Cape speakers also held their own in Duo Interpretation, with Ali Dunton and Colleen Howard earning third place; Amanda Barnett and Shannon Howard coming in fourth; and Zachary Hindall and Melissa Stewart taking fifth place.

Earning third place honors were Peter Campbell in Oratorical Declamation, Rachel LaPlante in Humorous Interpretation, and Lindsey Goodykoontz in Prose. Chelsea Whynot came in third in Original Oratory, and Rebecca Eisenberg got fourth in that category.

Other Cape team members include Abigail Burhman, Reid Douty, Madison Duong, Tim Hartel, Julia Hintlian, Kelsey Krull and Lane Parrish.

National competition in Dallas

The team now begins preparing for the National Forensic League’s national competition, to be held in mid-June in Dallas, Texas

Last year, Cape won its first state speech title since the 1990s, a victory made sweeter by the team’s near demise. In June 2008, both the CEHS speech and debate teams were cut from the school budget. The debate program was not restored, but later that summer the speech team program was reinstated.

‘Former renown’

“The last three years have been building years to bring Cape speech to its former renown, when it won 10 straight state championships, 1986-1995,” said Mullen, who coached during those years.

Mullen would like to see Cape’s speech program continue its streak in the future.

“Next year? It is time for debate,” Mullen said. “Cape needs a speech and debate program to amplify its strong academic program.”

Talking their way to the top!

(reprinted from the February, 2010 issue of the Cape Courier)

By Wendy Keeler

When it came time to celebrate, members of Cape Elizabeth High School’s state championship-winning speech team let flashing lights, horns and banners do the speaking at an impromptu parade held in the middle of town the morning of Sunday, Jan. 31. Hours before, at around 2 a.m., the team returned home from Orono, where Cape outspoke 14 other schools at the Maine Forensic Association’s 2010 state tournament at the University of Maine.

Winning CEHS its first state speech championship since the mid-1990s, the team did so against all odds.

“This team of young people, parents, and coaches has, in two years, taken the team from the budget-cut floor to a championship season,” said CEHS theater teacher Richard Mullen, who coaches the team. “At the risk of tooting our own horns, we are making a bit of noise to memorialize this remarkable comeback.”

At the state meet, Cape speakers won and placed in many categories. Senior Liz Briggs took top honors in the category of extemporaneous speaking on current issues. Junior Kelsey Krull came home with a first in the original work category and placed among the top six in the dramatic interpretation category. Sophomore Will McCarthy won for original oratory and placed in the oratorical declamation category.

The ensemble team of freshman Peter Campbell, sophomore Colleen Howard, and senior A.J. Frustaci won first place in their interpretation of “Sylvia,” by A.R. Gurney.

In extemporaneous speaking on current issues, juniors Brendan Stewart and Robert Macdonald placed. Other top-placing speakers included freshman Lauren Steidl and junior Eliza Tunstall-Weiner in oratorical declamation, senior Tom Campbell in humorous interpretation, and freshman Arianna Cogswell and junior Brendan Stewart in storytelling. Sophomore Melissa Stewart and junior Lane Parrish placed in prose reading, and sophomore Charlotte Rutty placed in the original works category.

‘Team effort all the way’

The win was a group effort, Mullen said. “Individuals have shown remarkable growth throughout the season in this demanding co-curricular activity, but for the state finals it was a team effort all the way,” said Mullen.

Other team members include junior Ally Boyington, freshman Griffin Carpenter, sophomore Ali Dunton, senior Emma Goldbas, junior Lindsey Goodykoontz, junior Kelsey Harrington, sophomore Julia Hintlian, sophomore Thomas Janick, senior Lily Kalikow, sophomore Sasha Kohan, junior Rachel LaPlante, freshman Tara Pinette, and sophomore Luke Sisselman.

Volunteer assistants David Campbell, Cindy Stephanus and Lisa Melanson help coach the team, which won six of its seven meets this season.

Because of lack of student participation, funds for the speech and debate programs were cut for the 2007-2008 school year, but speech received funding last year.

In the spring, the nonprofit Cape Elizabeth Education Foundation, which seeks to fund innovative programs that fall outside the school budget, awarded a $3,000 grant to revive debate.

In October, speech lost its funding when Superintendent Alan Hawkins enacted a spending freeze. At that point, Mullen asked CEEF for approval to use debate funds to keep the speech program alive. The High School Parents Association, which had awarded $500 for debate, agreed to do the same.

Team members, who paid a $50 participation fee, also did fundraising.

“We have survived, barely,” Mullen said.

N.F.L. - CEHS Speech Team Takes the Field CEHS teachers Lisa Melanson & Richard Mullen

"Two summers ago, I attended Harvard Graduate School of Education’s summer institute, Project Zero, through a grant from the Cape Elizabeth Education Foundation.  The seminar helped me appreciate the concept of performance as a key to literacy.  As David Perkins, one of the directors of the Project Zero Institute emphasized in a memorable key-note address, students must “play the game,” not spend countless years simply learning the rules.  He gave the example of Little League: would we consider instructing young girls and boys in the encyclopedic rules of the game before allowing them on the diamond?

His question caused me to wonder how one could infuse opportunities for performance, and hence, the desire for mastery of literacy skills, in our high school students’ educational experience.  I have striven to incorporate the principles of performance learning into the goals of enriching students’ literacy and presentation skills as the new Speech Team Advisor. Along the way, I have had crucial assistance from community volunteers who have served as assistant coaches and as judges at tournaments. 

The 34 students of the Speech Team have worked over the last four months to hone their technique, attending Saturday tournaments near and far, including tournaments held at Scarborough, Maranacook, Poland, Deering, and Skowhegan High Schools.  The N.F.L. Night served as a warm-up to the state championship tournament in Brunswick on the 31st, where the team earned a Third Place trophy."    Lisa Melanson