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Grade 8: Storytelling Competition

November 2, 2021

On Thursday, October 28th, grade 8 held their annual English Storytelling Competition. The competition is always an event for students to look forward to, as they would get to see their peers deliver narratives that they had written themselves in English class.

This semester, students had written spine-tingling horror stories. The six competitors in the final round had already presented their stories in class and to teacher judges in the second round. For many of them, advancing into the final round was an unexpected reward. They were both excited and a little scared. Tina from 8-11 “learned to turn stress into motivation.” “I spent days preparing for the final day and I hope I’ll deliver my final speech fluently without errors,” explains Athena from 8-4. “I had to practice many nights in order to make my speech well and all my efforts had not gone to waste,” said Rosa, another student from 8-3.

When the competition began, it was clear that their work had not been for nothing. Each student told their stories skillfully, making the audience shiver with fright and gasp with surprise.

Athena from 8-4 wrote a story about a girl who often heard strange noises in her walls at night. Eventually, she discovered that there was a man living inside the very walls of her house, and that man had even eaten her missing cat! Winnie from 8-10 imagined a murderer who would dress up as a clown. The main character of the story eventually found out that the murderer was actually her own uncle. Charlene from 8-6 wrote about a girl who downloaded a strange app called “Danger,” and how she realized that she could not trust even her own mother.

Tina from 8-11 crafted a story with an unreliable narrator who thought they were trapped in a dark room, before finally deciding to fight back one day. Rosa from 8-3 wrote a story about love, in which a man hurts his lover because of societal pressures. Finally, Ray from 8-4 wrote about the fear every student has—the fear of the upcoming homework deadline.

Each story was wonderful and vivid, and the audience found their eyes glued to the stage. At the end of their performance, the competitors were all greeted with respectful applause for their effort, public-speaking talent, and well-honed writing skills. It was a fun experience for the presenters as well. Charlene from 8-6 said that she has learned many important techniques that can help her to do better in essays and oral presentations in the future. Ray from 8-4 said, “I would like to thank everyone for providing me this opportunity to perform my horror story in front of the whole grade. I’ve been looking forward to expressing my ideas with my story.” “The storytelling competition provides astage for self-expression. The plot of the story is bizarre and so fascinating that emerges passion and fantasy to the mind,” Winnie from 8-10 agreed.

Finally, the results of the competition were announced by Mr. Key. Charlene from 8-6 and Ray from 8-4 were the winners of the S/S+ level and the H/H+ level. Mr. Shen Tianyuan, director of grades 6-8, and Ms. Shen Ying, grade 8 supervisor, presented the award certificates and prizes to the winners. Let’s look forward to the story feast next year!

(Written by Gabrielle 8(13), Christy 8(4) Pictures by Shen Tianyuan, G8 Photography SL Group Edited by Huang Shiyuan, Brie Polette)