Aug. 29, 2019 -- Heights middle and high school students enrolled in Chinese language courses in 2018-19 had the opportunity to show off their skills at the end of the school year by competing in the annual Chinese Speech and Essay Contest. The contest, which is organized by the Confucius Institute at Cleveland State University, is open to all students studying Chinese in the state of Ohio who compete by either writing an essay or giving a speech on a select topic in Chinese.

Heights High then-freshman Thalia Lisowski came in second place overall, while Ava Collyer, Ashton Everette, Tait Manning and Emma Vail all earned a third place finish. 

Tait, a sophomore at the time, has participated in the contest since middle school. “I’ve developed a stronger Chinese vocabulary, as well as learned to construct sentences in Chinese,” he said. “The contest is a great way for students to acquire a more advanced understanding of the Chinese language and improve their writing skills.”

Ava, a junior, said, “It is such a rewarding feeling to work hard on an essay and be recognized for that work! It’s also a good way to apply the language more than just learning vocabulary, and it’s nice to write about topics I’m interested in.”

Eight Heights High students earned Honorable Mention: Katrina Palmer, Charlie King, Abra Lisowski, Patricia Chen, Theodore Evans III, James Huff III, Mills May, and Brandon C Radford.  

The middle schoolers also had an impressive showing with Monticello 8th grader Orson Thayer-Hansen placing second in the essay portion and third in the speech portion. Nia Baker and Dashara Turner also placed 3rd with their speeches, while Harrison J Durrant, Johnathan Jones, Isiah Blockson, and Patrick Wills all earned Honorable Mentions for their essays. 

Roxboro 8th grader Tashara Deaver‘s essay came in 1st place, with Aiden Flynn, Cayden Lily-Bidinger, and Clara Lyford all placing third, and Kenji Sakaie receiving an Honorable Mention. Clara and Cayden also placed third for their speeches.

Cayden said he was “so glad to see many wonderful speakers with good oral skills and pronunciation which inspire me to work hard in the future.” Tashara, who competed for the first time and won, said, “I learned that I have talents that I didn’t even know I had. It was an honor to be able to attend this essay contest.”

Students from the three buildings also participated in a Chinese New Year t-shirt design contest with Ava Collyer’s design coming in first and Thalia Lisowski and Christopher Crumedy tying for second.