CAMARILLO : Students Speak Out During 6th Annual Tournament

Rachel Roskelley faced the judges, took a deep breath and began reciting Shel Silverstein’s “The Crocodile’s Toothache.”

“Suddenly the jaws went snap and the dentist went right off the map,” the 6-year-old said, scissoring her arms to show how the crocodile swallowed an unfortunate dentist.

Rachel is one of 816 Camarillo students in kindergarten through third grade participating in the Pleasant Valley Elementary School District’s sixth annual Primary Speech Tournament at Los Altos Intermediate School.

The competition, open to public and private school students, began Monday with kindergartners, features second-grade students today and concludes Thursday with third-graders. First-grade students spoke Tuesday.

Speech students from Camarillo High School, Monte Vista Intermediate School and Los Altos serve as judges. They evaluate contestants on enthusiasm, the use of gestures, eye contact, volume, pronunciation, character portrayal and presentation.

The job is tougher than they expected, some judges said after listening to a round of speeches.

“I look for the littlest things to bump them down,” said 15-year-old Ramon Rivera, a Los Altos eighth-grade student. “They were all so good.”

Some contestants fidgeted as they raced through their monologues, or barely spoke above a whisper. At times, Ramon had to command the diminutive orators to “stand up straight and face everyone.”

Judge Sarah Fessenden, a seventh-grader at Los Altos, said public speaking is a form of entertainment that gives students self-esteem. “It makes them feel good about themselves and us about them,” said Sarah, who made her speaking debut five years ago during the same contest.

Marilyn Bjork, a Los Altos teacher and the district’s speech mentor, said she started the tournament to help junior high school students overcome their fear of public speaking.

“If they start early like this they don’t have any fears,” Bjork said.

Her idea seems to work. Los Altos and Monte Vista schools placed first and second at a recent speech competition at Pasadena City College.

All primary speakers at this week’s contest will receive a participation button. About 245 students with the best scores will earn certificates and trophies. Points are assigned for each winner and the schools with the most points will win the sweepstakes trophies, which will be presented Thursday.