01/14/2025
Last week we had the Ceremonies for the Annual American Legion Oratory Contest in McLean.
Zaina Naffa (11th Grade) came in 1st Place, Zaina’s speech, titled “Our National Anthem,” linked the Constitution to the Alien and Sedition Acts, a couple of influential court cases, the War of 1812, and Francis Scott Key’s writing of the Star-Spangled Banner. Zaina obviously conducted a great deal of research in preparation for this contest. Her performance looked like a courtroom drama: lively, informative, and interesting.
A junior from Langley High School came in 2nd Place.
Jenna Said (11th Grade) came in 3rd Place, Jenna’s speech, “A Father, a Dream, a Promise,” focused on the lessons Jenna learned from her father’s experiences in Kuwait and Philadelphia. She spoke about how her father came to this country with only $5 dollars in his pocket and later kept his money under his pillow, because the crime rate in Philadelphia was so high. She explained how the Constitution’s guarantee of individual rights inspired and provided the framework for her father to become a successful doctor.
Sarah Salim (former KAA student) and Sami Alzahrani (9th Grade) also competed.
All of the students spoke for 8-10 minutes on the U.S. Constitution, and then for just over 3 minutes on the 7th Amendment to the Constitution (Right to trial by jury).
The 40+ member audience consisted of Legionnaires from McLean and Maryland, as well as several KAA students who came to support their classmates.
