With the winter storm blowing into South Dakota on the weekend of November 30-December 1, the State Oral Interpretation Contest had to be postponed to December 7-8. The location was also changed to Pierre, SD. So, the Raider Oral Interpretation team was on the road for one final performance of the 2018 season.

With Oral Interpretation, you must understand that it is a very subjective activity. At state, the kids go into a room with a full audience and three judges. They have one chance to give it their all and do their best performing in front of these three judges. Now, each judge is different, and each performance is different. The interpreters could have a great performance and very much impress one judge, while the other judges prefer a different selection. Actually, these kids could perform their exact same piece to a totally different panel of judges in the exact same way and could get a superior ranking while the other panel of judges may not give them a that ranking. That is what these kids were going for at state; they were all driven and motivated to get that superior or superior-plus ranking. That is how they medal at state.

Each and every one of The Wagner Oral Interpretation members gave their best performances of the year! We have never been so pleased with the way each member got up to present to the audience and judges, and truly gave it their all. This was their final performance, nothing but the best was going to please these Wagner Oral Intper Students. That is what they brought; their very best. But like it was stated before; Oral Interpretation is very subjective and is judged differently by each judge. Wagner walked away with one superior ranking out of the six performances brought to state. However, this was nothing to walk away disappointed about; these kids had outstanding performances and were able to 100% say they gave it their all. They all walked away knowing it was their best performances of the season, even though the judges may not have given them the superior rankings they were seeking.

The first day of the contest was started out with The Reader's Theater Group of Mackenzie Roberts, Rose Eitemiller, Michaela Kokes, Michelle Soukup, Kallen Kafka, and Ciara Nelson giving their version of "Sticky Buns." The Reader's Theater kids have worked hard all season on perfecting this piece by putting lots of time and work into it. The kids had a great performance at state keeping the audience in tune and receiving an overall Excellent ranking.

The evening performance was given by Olivia Breen in the Storytelling Category performing "Feival Goes West." Olivia really had a great performance with this piece this year and has shown that throughout the season in the ways that she has grown into a more powerful speaker. Olivia gave her best performance of the season and received an Excellent ranking overall.

Saturday morning was started out with Jessica Kocer giving a stellar performance in her Non-Original Oratory Category. She chose and perfected her Piece, "It's Not Easy, But It's Worth It" this season. Jessica's connection to this piece was obvious from the start. She has worked hard and that showed in her performance at state. Jessica walked away with an Excellent overall ranking.

Also performing on Saturday morning was the duet of Kallen Kafka and Michelle Soukup performing their piece, "Sandwich Bags; Wear Them on You Pants." Kallen and Michelle were in sequence from the start. They had a humorously great performance and really drew the audience into their piece. They received an Excellent Ranking overall.

Saturday afternoon was started off with Maggie Barnett performing her poetry piece with a collection of poems from "Bending The Universe." Maggie had a flawless performance and her connection with this piece was evident and she took over the stage and her audience in her captivating performance. Maggie took home a Superior Ranking and medaled with this awesome performance.

The final performance was in the Humorous Category given by Grant Namminga. Grant performed "Bein' Crazy" and won over the audience from the start. The humor in his piece was wonderful as you could see the audience laughing and connecting to the characters Grant had to bring to life in his piece. This performance was stunning and left the audience cheering for the great performance. Grant received an Excellent ranking for his performance.

This has been a wonderfully challenging year for The Wagner Oral Interp students. They have risen above these challenges by taking on and winning their regional contest and moving onto state. State proved to be a challenge although it was a great experience and the Wagner Raiders can do nothing more than walk away from this 2018 Oral Interpretation season with their heads held high knowing they took on these challenges, rose above them, and gave it their all. We are very proud of this Oral Interpretation season and are thankful for the wonderful opportunity to be able to work with such an elite group of students. Congrats on a great Oral Interp Season!