One of the major capstone projects at Unquowa are 8th Grade speeches. These talks are an opportunity for the Unquowa Community to hear from each graduating student about a topic that is meaningful to them. Each year, we have inspiring speeches about friends, family, perseverance, secret talents, passions, and a host of other topics that students choose to share with the gathered school community.

Eighth Grade speeches are months-long endeavors that officially began in September when we offered a short unit on communication and speechwriting and will end in April when the last of the speeches has been delivered. Early on, students submit their drafts, are given suggestions on edits and then begin practicing. What makes this speaker series so important and special is the positive impact on the entire Unquowa Community. Eighth Graders are visible leaders at Unquowa, and younger students listen with rapt attention to what the oldest students want to share with them. Almost every week, starting this month, all of our students will get to hear special, personal words from their role models. There’s nothing like it!

Reya’s speech was the first in the series and we were all impressed with her confident delivery and moved by her message of how she “learned a valuable lesson. Things don’t get easier, you just get stronger.” She set the bar high for this year’s series and we can’t wait to hear from each of our 8th Graders!