Students Sparkle At Florida State Spanish Conference
By Space Coast Daily // April 1, 2013
Holy Trinity Team Competes In Four Categories
BREVARD COUNTY • MELBOURNE, FLORIDA – Holy Trinity Episcopal Academy’s Spanish Forum Team enjoyed great success at the 57th Florida State Spanish Conference held last month in Orlando.
The team was led by teachers Mrs. Carmen Mirda and Mrs. Sharon Torkelson.
More than 400 students representing 39 Florida schools participated in the competition in two divisions from March 14 to 16.
Holy Trinity’s team competed in Division 1-3A in four categories including impromptu speaking, declamation (poetry), cultural entertainment and theatrical drama.
Volunteer college professors and seasoned high school teachers judged each performance.
Holy Trinity seniors Alex Theodotou and Vashti Shiwmangal participated in the essay writing competition and Spanish scholarship examination.
Theodotou won an award of $150 and Shiwmangal won an award of $100 from the Florida State Spanish Conference for their essays and exam scores.
Isabela Rovira won second place overall in the musical instrument contest for her violin performance titled “Por una Cabeza” by Carlos Gardel.
Christina Darwish participated in the regional fashion show dressed as a colorful Spanish flamenco dancer.
Both Rovira and Darwish received immense applause from the audience.
All Holy Trinity team members won ribbons and individual trophies for top ratings.
The rating scales are as follows: Sobresaliente (highest honor achievement), Superior, and Bueno.
In the Impromptu category, students must speak extemporaneously in Spanish for two to three minutes on a random topic. Seniors Christina Darwish and Alex Theodotou received perfect scores of 40 out of 40.
Six students participated in the Declamation category where students must recite a monologue or poem in Spanish with feeling, gestures and expression. Seniors Christina Darwish, Alex Theodotou, Vashti Shiwmangal, Dolan Bortner received Sobresalientes with Christina and Alex earning a perfect score of 40.
For their theatre production, the HTEA team received highest honors. Their play, “Un amor puro,” or “Pure Love,” is an original piece written by Christina Darwish and Sumayya Mujeeb.
The team members rehearsed for many hours, made the stage props and costumes. Their work was rewarded with a sobresaliente rating.
