State Oral Interpretation Results Update
Beresford Oral Interp Team achieved a perfect five Superior Ratings in each of the five events they qualified for the SDHSAA State Oral Interpretation Festival held Dec. 1-2, 2023, at Harrisburg High School.
A Superior was earned by the Reader's Theater group, including Emma Andrews, Isabelle Beeson, Sophia Coe, Max Josko, and Isabella Russo. Beresford also received Superior in the following categories: Emma Andrews and Sophia Coe in Duet Acting, Laney Andrews in Storytelling, Max Josko in Humor, and Emma Andrews in Non-original Oratory.
In order to advance to the State, these students had to win the local contest held in Beresford on Nov. 6, as only the school's single best entry could compete at the Regional Contest. The Regional contest was held at Vermillion HS on Nov. 15, 2023. Of 11 Class "A" schools in the Region, the top three advanced to the State Festival. There are five Class "A" Regions in South Dakota, with a total of 15 entries in each of the oral interp categories at the State Festival.
At State, Beresford also received the "School of Excellence Award," which is achieved when any class "A" or class "B" schools receives at least two Superior ratings in two different categories of Oral Interp.
The State Oral Interp Festival completes a busy season for Beresford's High School and Middle School, where a total of 34 students (10 Beresford HS and 24 Beresford MS) attended at least one of the 6 Oral Interp Invitational Contests, including hosting the Big East Conference Oral Interp Tournament held on Oct. 9, 2023, in Beresford.
The Speech and Debate Season started Nov. 1, with students now competing in Public Forum Debate, Lincoln Douglas Debate, Original Oratory, Informative Speaking, and Extemporaneous Speaking. Currently, 12 Beresford high school and middle school students are competing in Speech and Debate Events, with the State Speech and Debate Tournament to be held on March 1-2, 2024, in Watertown.
Oral Interp, as well as Speech and Debate, are coached by Ann Tornberg in her 35th year of teaching and coaching.
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Six Beresford High School students represented the Oral Interp Team at the Region 1A Contest in Vermillion on Wednesday, November 15, 2023, and all qualified for the SDHSAA State Oral Interp Festival to be held Dec. 1-2, 2023, at Harrisburg High School.
Ten area schools competed in the Region 1A Contest, including Beresford, Canton, Elk Point Jefferson, Estelline, Lennox, Parker, Tea Area, Vermillion, Sioux Falls Christian, and West Central. Students needed to place in the top three in each of the seven categories of Oral Interp in order to advance to the State Festival.
Beresford's Readers Theater placed first in the contest. Readers Theater is an event that features 3-6 students in a 10-minute group acting ensemble. The Beresford selection was "Hercules, " which featured junior Max Josko as Hercules and four freshman girls, Emma Andrews, Isabelle Beeson, Sophia Coe, and Isabella Russo, as the Greek Chorus.
Other state qualifiers included Emma Andrews and Sophia Coe in Duet Acting, Max Josko in Humorous Interp, Laney Andrews in Storytelling, and Emma Andrews in Non-original Oratory.
Under the direction of Oral Interp Coach Ann Tornberg, 32 Beresford students in grades 7-12 competed in five Oral Interp Invitationals in the fall of 2023. Beresford won the Sweepstakes in their division at each of the five invitationals. All interested individuals are invited and encouraged to attend the State Oral Interp Festival in Harrisburg. The Schedule for the Beresford Entries at the State Festival is as follows:
Friday Afternoon, Dec. 1, 2023
1:30 pm "A" School Readers Theater (Max Josko, Emma Andrews, Sophia Coe, Isabelle Beeson, and Isabella Russo)
Friday Evening
6:00 pm "A" School Storytelling (Laney Andrews)
Sat. Morning, Dec. 2
9:00 am "A" School Non-original Oratory (Emma Andrews)
"A" School Duet Acting (Sophia Coe and Emma Andrews)
Sat. Afternoon
1:30 pm "A" School Humorous Reading (Max Josko)
Pictured left to right: Laney Andrews, Isabelle Beason, Isabella Russo, Sophia Coe, Emma Andrews, and Max Josko. Seated is team coach Ann Tornberg.