Westglades Speech and Debate Team {courtesy}
By Ryan Yousefi
Stop us if you’ve heard this one before. Another Westglades Middle School team dominated a competition.
The Speech and Debate Team recently displayed another outstanding performance, this time at the MAST 6 competition held at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School on February 21.
MAST 6, the latest opportunity for the team, consisting of 77 students, to showcase their speech and debate skills, ended with a roaring success as the squad secured 28 medals.
Brooke Pappas, the Speech and Debate teacher at Westglades Middle School, tells Parkland Talk she’s been overjoyed with excitement and pride in the wake of the team’s achievements.
“The highlight for me as the teacher and coach was to see many new names earning medals and winning events, Pappas said,” adding it was especially nice to see some students being rewarded for their hard work and dedication in practice for the first time “I had some students who earned medals for the first time,”
The competition featured various speech and debate events, including congress, declamation, dramatic interpretation, humorous interpretation, duo interpretation, impromptu, informative, oratory, Lincoln-Douglas, poetry, prose, public forum, and storytelling.
The Westglades team particularly excelled in the impromptu event, a challenging category that calls for students to deliver a speech without notes after selecting a quote and preparing for only seven minutes.
Looking forward, Pappas says the team has set its sights on further goals, “We have so much to be excited for moving on from MAST 6,” adding that the team is planning the first-ever Speech and Debate Showcase at Westglades Middle School on Tuesday, March 19, from 6-8 p.m.
Pappas says that the March 19 event will allow parents and community members to witness the students’ talents for themselves, as spectators are not typically allowed at tournaments.
In addition to the showcase, the team is preparing for their next tournament, MAST 7, on March 14.
Below is a list of students who earned a medal at MAST 6.
Author Profile
- Ryan Yousefi has lived in Coral Springs for over 30 years. He has worked as a writer for multiples outlets over the years, including the Miami New Times where he has covered sports and culture since 2013. He holds a Bachelor's Degree and a Master's Degree in Business Healthcare Management from Western Governors University.
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