Mr. Albert, our English teacher, started the class by returning everyone’s test papers, with gold stars and comments for everyone.

The word of the day was “matriculate.”

Miss Leeanne, our speech teacher, gave pop quizzes to Robin, Li, and Wendy.

Two new students gave their first reports:  Gina spoke of a wonderful new life, a transformation she is going through, leaving negative energy behind and welcoming new positive forces into her world.  With just a little bit of nervousness showing through (not that there’s anything wrong with that) she reminded us all what it was like to stand in front of the class for the first time. Evaluator Heather was encouraging, and she pointed out the skills that Gina already has that make her an engaging speaker and a winner at life.  It will be easier next time Gina! A  for effort.

Our second new student, Katy, at first seemed unclear on the concept of Toastmasters, declaring her love of actual toast, as in bread toasted in the toaster.  But it turned out to be no joke: Katy is actually a skilled and enthusiastic bread baker and lover of bread recipes and all things bread and toast related.  Clever!  Funny!  Engaging!  Brilliantly crafted!  A+!   Brenda was almost as passionate about bread in her evaluation as Katy was in her speech.  Great work from Brenda on her first evaluation.

And Brian, our honor graduate, delivered a commencement address, earning his Competent Communicator Award for completing his tenth speech.  Brian took us through his journey as a Toastmaster, describing the ways Toastmasters has enriched his personal life, his career, and his worth as a world citizen.  Along the way Brian has learned that courage leads to skill development, which leads to greater confidence, more courage, and greater skill development.  And the payoff has been tremendous. Not just for Brian, but for those of us who know him and are inspired by him.   Brian’s trophy wife Michelle came to the meeting and everything. Evaluator Amy waxed nostalgic about Brian’s very first day at school, the way he showed up with his Spiderman lunchbox and crayons, ready to learn and work and play well with others. 

And then the bell rang and everybody went to the Brick Oven! 

 Congratulations to our ribbon winners!

·         Best Table Topic: Robin

·         Best Speaker: Brian

·         Best Evaluator: Amy

·         Most Enthusiastic: Brenda

·         Best Use of Humor: Katy

See you next week!