Griffin Marsh, a student at St. Michael School in Penn Yan, and Shannon Nicholas, a student at St. Francis-St. Stephen School in Geneva, recently placed first in the annual oratorical contest for students in Finger Lakes-area Catholic schools. The contest was held May 31 at Geneva’s DeSales High School.
Griffin, a fifth-grader, placed first in the fifth- and sixth-grade division of the contest, and Shannon, an eighth-grader, placed first in the seventh- and eighth-grade division.
Fifth-graders Yafir Choudhury of St. Michael School in Newark and Hannah Dean of St. Francis-St. Stephen School placed second and third, respectively, in the fifth- and sixth-grade division.
Seventh-grader Timothy Shaffer of St. John Bosco School in Seneca Falls and eighth-grader Brendan Smith of St. Mary School in Canandaigua won second and third place, respectively, in the seventh- and eighth-grade division.
Each of the winning students, as well as the 11 other participating students, presented speeches that answered such questions as, “What obstacles do you face as a Catholic youth in the year 2006?”
