On Monday, March 31, the Southeast Valley Individual Speech Team ended its season with a trip to Cedar Falls and a performance by sophomore Aurora Dencklau at the IHSSA Individual All-State Speech Festival.

     Aurora Dencklau is a sophomore at SVHS and was nominated in the category of reviewing for her review of Fahrenheit 451, a book by Ray Bradbury. There are many steps involved in being nominated for All-State. First, Aurora earned a division I (excellent) rating at the district level contest in Fort Dodge in early March. Next, she earned division I ratings from each of three judges at the state level competition at Woodbury Central in Moville. Finally, Aurora received two or more outstanding nominations from the state judges to be classified as an Outstanding Performer. This classification sets Aurora apart as one of the top performers in the State of Iowa.

     The festival included attending opening ceremonies and a day filled with performances in all categories of individual event speech. Critics are present to offer feedback to performers, and medals are awarded to participants. Schools are also recognized with an All-State banner to be hung in the high school commons.