Small Speech Team Is Big on Talent

While the Harlem High School Forensics Team may be small, they are big on talent. At the Glasgow meet held on November 16, both members finished second.

Mary-Kate French, who teaches art at Harlem High School (HHS), is the Speech Coach for the team. She expressed pride in her two competitors. Stanley Spangelo, who is a sophomore at HHS, placed second in Humorous Oral Interpretation with his piece entitled "Beauty Sleep" by Meghan Hakes. Dante Jackson, a junior, also earned second place in Dramatic Oral Interpretation with his piece "The Tell-Tale Heart" by Edgar Allen Poe.

"Small teams like ours are fairly common in B and C schools," French said. "With the numerous activities offered during the fall and winter seasons, students have a lot of options and are very busy. They have the option to be in speech along with another activity or sport, if they choose to," she added.

Spangelo and Jackson have both been competitors on the Forensics Team since they began high school.

Although this is French's first year at HHS, she taught for ten years in Harlowton, and prior to that she taught in Judith Gap for five years. She also coached Speech/Drama for one year in Harlowton, where she taught both English and Art.

About joining the teaching staff at HHS, she said, "I am very happy to be here in Harlem. There are some very talented kids here and I'm excited to keep working with them on their artistic endeavors."

The Wildcats' next meet will be hosted by Fort Benton High School on December 7.