By Paula Scott

On Friday, March 31, a select number of Ada High School sophomores, juniors and seniors participated in a 117-year-old tradition known as Interclass. As a judge at this much-heralded event, it was both new and news for me as the Icon editor. Having seen the excitement generated by other Ada Schools competitions–the spelling bee, powder puff football and new powder buff volleyball–I expected the energy level to be high and class spirit to be palpable.

The audience at the Ada Schools auditorium was filled with the competitors’ classmates, familes and friends, who vigorously cheered them on and listened attentively to the presentation of essays, poetry, short stories and dramatic monologues. The first three categories feature original content, while dramatic performances were drawn from television, movies and music.

The overwhelmingly serious content of both the essays and creative writing, both poetry and short stories took me somewhat by surprise. The students who performed had their game faces on and topics of personal and global scale to address:

CONTINUES

ESSAY

• Lily Diehl - A Double Edged Sword - Senior
• Josie Phillips - The Devastating Effects of Marine Pollution - Junior
• Aidra Preston - The Importance of Family Farms - Sophomore

POETRY

• Amelia Alexander - Rumination of My Shiny Eyes - Senior
• Benjamin Burkheimer - Ode to the Stars - Sophomore
• Jillian Hazelton - Natural Beauty - Junior

SHORT STORY

• Kylee Kober - The Mutation - Junior
• Aubrey Pope - Comfortable Sleep - Sophomore
• Robert Waters - Despair, Then Light - Senior

DRAMATIC READING

• Jillian Allison - The Iceberg (adapted from a sketch on Saturday Night Live) - Sophomore
• Wyatt Green - Intro III-NF by Nathan Feurstein - Junior
• Brendan Jameson - The Rock (from the movie Everything, Everywhere, All at Once) - Senior

The trend towards weighty topics was evident from the instructions by emcee Isaiah Broge of the student council, who noted that students were to use discretion in the selection and composition of their materials.

The essays covered three very different topics: the “double edged sword” of religion, the swiftly advancing threat of marine pollution and the need to support family farms. The three poems were all personal in nature, presenting individual emotions, interests and messages. The short stories shared science fiction or surreal approaches. Some comic relief came during the final selection of dramatic readings.

The other judges were D. Lyn Davis, a retired AHS faculty member, and Rhett Grant, Director of the Ada Public Library. We scored each presentation and briefly met to discuss them while the audience enjoyed a Senior Class skit, films from Mr. Ames’ class and refreshments provided by the Ada Academic Boosters.

When the scores were totaled, it was clear that all three classes were represented by strong competitors. While student abilities and knowledge increase year by year, individual variation in presentation skills, success in crafting an engaging story or effective essay and the necessity of following the Interclass rules resulted in a very suspenseful evening.

In the end, it was the sophomore class that lifted the Interclass trophy, giving them the chance to defend this honor in 2024 and perhaps 2025.

Bravo to the sophomores and to the Ada Schools for continuing the Interclass tradition.

For a peek at the competition of 1923, visit the Ada Icon’s historical sampling HERE.