The BSM speech team held its first in-house meet. The meet took place from 8:30 am to 2:00 pm on Saturday, January 16 and was held at the school in the classrooms and Great Hall. No other schools were in attendance, so it was more of a practice meet, giving speech team members the opportunity to practice their speeches and get feedback from coaches.

The meet consisted of two rounds. In the first round, members divided into groups with other category members. “They [performed], then [work-shopped] with coaches and/or judges,” head coach Mrs. Maura Brew said.

In the second round, the members performed their speeches in a format more similar to how they would in a regular meet. However, unlike a regular tournament, students were in rounds with members of multiple different categories. “They [performed] how they would in a competition and they [had] judges [gave] them critiques,” Brew said.

The purpose of the meet at BSM is to prepare the speech team members for a real competition against other schools. “It shows the novices what the tournament will feel like. It’s also for the team members to see each other’s pieces and it is a great opportunity to work hard on their speech before they go into competition,” said Brew.

In addition to the meet, there was also a drive held to donate items to the Minneapolis Veterans Home. The drive was organized by junior Sean McCullough. Speech members brought in various items to be donated to the Minneapolis Veterans Home. “What inspired me to run the drive is the ability that we have to give back those who served our country and put their lives at risk for us to live in comfort and safety. They really deserve so much,” McCullough said.

The meet not only served as good practice for team members, but also as a great bonding opportunity. Following the two rounds, the entire team made tie blankets together as a team bonding activity. “It was a really fun experience to see everyone having fun making blankets for a good cause,” captain Brandon Banks said.  

All 14 of these blankets, along with items brought in such as socks, short and long sleeve shirts, and fully insulated gloves, were donated to the Minneapolis Veterans Home. In total, over 278 items were collected to be given to veterans. “The Veteran’s Home and I are very pleased with the amount of donations received,” McCullough said.

Team advisor Maura Brew feels very positively about the upcoming speech season. “We have amazing range of qualified coaches and a lot of artists. I think the future looks very bright,” Brew said.