WWW.QNS.COM RIDGEWOOD TIMES JUNE 6, 2019 15
5 ways to make your graduate feel great
Queens students sweep oratorial contest
BY EMILY DAVENPORT
EDAVENPORT@RIDGEWOODTIMES.COM
@RIDGEWOODTIMES
Three Queens Catholic school
students took home the top
prizes in a public speaking
competition hosted by the Diocese
of Brooklyn.
Eighteen students from across
Queens and Brooklyn gathered at
Our Lady of Mercy in Forest Hills
to participate in the 2019 Sister
Peggie Merritt Memorial Oratorical
Contest.
The students presented speeches
delivered by notable people
throughout history including
Winston Churchill, Shirley Chisholm,
former Presidents Barack Obama
and John F. Kennedy, Princess Diana
and Steve Jobs. The orations covered
a variety of topics including eating
disorders, teen suicide, gun control,
civil rights, equal rights, and the
March for Life.
Taking fi rst place in the contest
was Mia Lopez, an eighth grade
student at Saint Francis of Assisi
Catholic Academy in Astoria. She
delivered Denzel Washington’s “Fall
Forward” speech to win the
contest.
Olivia Gorski, a seventh grade
student at Sacred Heart Catholic
Academy in Glendale, presented
Steve Carell’s “Princeton University
Class Day Remarks,” which helped
her claim the second-place prize. In
third place was Kasmira Jeannot,
an eighth grade student at Holy
Family Catholic Academy in Fresh
Meadows, who delivered Brittni
Darras’ speech, “The Fight Against
Teen Suicide.”
According to the Diocese, Sister
Peggie was dedicated to elementary
education for over 60 years. She
originally founder and coordinated
the contest, and upon her death in
2016 the contest was renamed in her
honor.
GRADUATION
In keeping with tradition this
time of year, parents across America
are getting ready to celebrate the
graduation achievements of their
children, nieces, nephews and other
friends and relatives.
Many will be moving forward
from preschool, elementary school or
middle school. A whopping 3.3 million
will graduate from high school. And at
the college level, students are expected
to have earned an impressive one
million associate’s degrees; 1.9 million
bachelor’s degrees; 780,000 master’s
degrees and 182,000 doctor’s degrees
over the 2018-19 school year, according
to the National Center for Education
Statistics.
Because these milestones are such an
important part of life, your graduate
will want to preserve memories of
friends, accomplishments and key
experiences gathered along the way.
If you’re a proud parent helping your
student celebrate this transition into
the next phase of life, here are some
ways to make it feel extra special.
* Share the great news. Even if
you’re not planning a huge event,
you can still show pride in your
grad’s achievement by mailing out
personalized announcements that
include graduation photos. Friends
and family will appreciate hearing that
your student has passed a milestone
and moved on to the next stage of life.
And the photo will give them a tangible
memento they can display and keep.
* Plan a personalized grad party.
Honor your graduate’s individuality
by creating customized signs, banners,
tableware, balloons, favors, candy,
a cake and/or other party gear that
features their name, image, hobbies,
school colors and logos, etc. You might
even spring for a life-sized standalone
cut-out of the guest of honor. Many
personalized products can be easily
created at the self-service Kodak
Picture Kiosks available at most CVS
and Target stores across the nation.
In fact, most can be completed and
returned on the same day they’re
ordered.
* Serve up your grad’s favorites.
In American culture, love is often
expressed through food. Whether
your celebration will consist of a big
party or a small, private family aff air,
putting your grad’s favorite food and
drink on the menu will show him or
her you care. Of course, that’s made
easy now that graduation parties
feature such a wide range of cuisines;
consider ordering take-out from your
grad’s favorite BBQ restaurant or
having your local supermarket handcraft
beautiful sushi platters to serve
to guests.
* Make a personalized playlist.
Compile and record a selection of
your grad’s favorite music to play at
his or her celebration party. Sprinkle
in other songs that may bring a smile;
consider childhood favorites, tunes
with sentimental lyrics, school fi ght
songs and/or music associated with
band, orchestra, theater or dance
performances.
* Commemorate friendships
through photo gift s. Your grad and his
or her classmates will treasure their
school memories well into the future if
you custom-create gift s featuring their
favorite photos. Digital photos can be
brought to better light, and create
more smiles, when they’re turned
into functional items like keepsake
boxes, calendars, mugs and magnets
on KodakMoments.com.
Your child will remember his
graduation celebration for years to
come if you personalize every element.
Start planning the details now so you
can be ready by the end of the school
year.
Courtesy BPT
The 18 contest fi nalists from schools throughout Brooklyn and Queens.
/KodakMoments.com
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