Montrose Students Lead Confidently
Montrose School’s programs prepare girls to tackle public speaking with assurance.
Montrose students grow in confidence and leadership as public speakers, thanks to offerings woven throughout the Montrose curriculum. As 7th grade students, each girl gives a class presentation on how to cultivate different intellectual virtues such as intellectual curiosity, tenacity and humility. Sophomore year, girls learn to use effective rhetorical devices by studying famous speeches from American History.
By graduation, Montrosians tackle presentations, speeches and interviews with confidence. Every Montrose senior puts her well-developed public speaking skills to work in presenting her senior Capstone project. After writing a fifteen page interdisciplinary research thesis in which she proposes a solution to a current social problem, each senior offers a mini thesis defense. Click here to see an example.
Girls can take advantage of additional public speaking opportunities such as Montrose’s award-winning speech team. Team member Erin Golden ‘17 noted, “I’ve come to enjoy public speaking. The speech team helped me a lot when I’ve had to give class presentations or advocate for myself.” In the recent Milton Academy speech tournament, in which hundreds of students from twenty high schools competed, Montrose won a fifth place trophy, while Katie Sidhu ‘16 placed second in Impromptu, Molly Bowman ‘18 and Yvonne Niebuhr ‘18 placed fifth in Duo and Annie Miklus ‘18 earned Honorable Mention in Children’s Literature.
Montrosians can also polish debating skills in Montrose’s Model UN club, in which students debate policy and propose solutions. In addition to winning awards in large multi-school conferences, the Model UN club recently held a General Assembly conference simulation on campus to debate Montrose’s new wifi policy. Gabby Landry ‘18 reported in The Looking Glass, “Members enjoyed tackling a Montrose hot topic in the setting of a practice debate. The Model UN club offers a practical opportunity for students to listen to and voice opinions — and to bring about pragmatic change.”
Other speaking opportunities for Montrose students in recent years have included the American Legion Oratorical Contest, in which Monica Stack ‘15 took first prize in the state championship; the annual Lion’s Club speech competition, in which Erin Golden ‘17 and Aine Ford ‘18 have excelled; and the English-speaking Union National Shakespeare Competition.
An independent school for girls in grades 6-12 guided by the teachings of the Catholic Church.
