The forensics team has wrapped its first (and last, hopefully) virtual New York Catholic Forensics League (NYCFL) season! The season began in total uncertainty. How do you reproduce live public speaking competitions online? The volunteer NYCFL executive board, of which Ms. Ablon is a member, feared technical limitations and difficulties would undermine efforts and limit student access to the activity. 

Oh how wrong they were! This season the NYCFL ran 14 synchronous, online, day-long public speaking contests with over 2100 students and 1000 judges participating. During this unsettled season, the league engineered a stable platform to maintain inter-school community, lift student voices, viewpoints and personalities, and build leadership through speech. Read on for 91st Street’s FOF-tastic end-of-season results!

 

Over February 13-14, the University of Pennsylvania hosted their Liberty Bell Classic virtually. Congratulations to:

Lucy Preston ‘22 - Semi-Finalist
Extemporaneous Speaking

Selma Zuaiter ‘22 - Quarter-Finalist
Original Oratory

Barbara Gibbons ‘23 - Quarter-Finalist
Declamation

 

On Saturday, March 6, the team competed at the New York Catholic Forensics League Grand Championship. CSH closed the local season winning 2nd Place Team Sweepstakes and qualifying a record eight speakers to represent the NYCFL at the virtual Grand National Championship on Memorial Day Weekend! Congratulations to our National Qualifiers:

Selma Zuaiter ‘22 - 2nd Place
Grace Lott '22- 5th Place
Serena Camici ‘21 - Pre-Qualified
Original Oratory

Carolina Lenzo ‘23 - 4th Place
Extemporaneous Speaking

Isabelle Abel ‘22 - 7th Place
Emily Kim ‘22 - 8th Place
Oral Interpretation of Literature

Barbara Gibbons ‘23 - 4th Place
Rossangel Francisco ‘23 - 7th Place
Declamation

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And to our semi-finalists

Caroline Severino’22 - Original Oratory
Rania Farah ‘23  - Extemporaneous Speaking
Nellie Fitzpatrick ‘23 - Declamation

Congrats to The Team for Finishing the Local Season in 2nd Place!

 

The New York State Forensics League Championship will take place online April 24 & 25. Over the course of the regular season, twenty-five members of the team qualified to compete at States and five double-qualified or DQ’d! Congratulations to our State Qualifiers:

Mohani Adem ‘22
Elizabeth Beshar ‘21
Lucy Preston ‘22
Annie Poulos ‘21
Varsity Extemporaneous Speaking

Sofia DeRose ’22
Rania Farah ’23
Lindsay King ’23
Brooke Klausner ’22
Carolina Lenzo ‘23
JV Extemporaneous Speaking

Serena Camici ‘21 
Sofia Kimuyu ‘23
Grace Lott ‘22
Caroline Severino ‘22 
Selma Zuaiter ‘22 
Original Oratory

Isabelle Abel ‘22
Serena Camici ‘21 (DQ)
Honor Knapp ‘21
Amelia Oulvey ‘21 
Selma Zuaiter ‘22  (DQ)
Varsity Oral Interpretation

Amelia Oulvey ‘21 (DQ)
Program Oral Interpretation

Isabel Graham ‘22
Humorous Interpretation

Barbara Gibbons ‘23
Maeve Farley ‘23
Scarlett Knapp ‘23
JV Oral Interpretation

Nellie Fitzpatrick ‘23
Rossangel Francisco ‘23 
Barbara Gibbons ‘23 (DQ)
Angela Gray ‘23
Sofia Kimuyu ‘23 (DQ)
Olivia Natarelli ‘23
Declamation

 

Lastly, deeply felt words of praise and gratitude for our FOF-tastic Team Captains and Seniors, and for our parent and faculty judges without whom we literally could not compete!