On the morning of Oct. 9, the Opening Ceremony of 2019-2020 “Maple Leaf Cup” English Speech Competition was held in the No. 2 Campus with the attendees of school leaders, Grade 4 to 9 teachers and students, and the guests of National Speech and Debate Association.

10月9日上午，2019-2020学年“枫叶杯”校园英语演讲比赛启动仪式在我校第二校区运动场拉开了序幕。出席启动仪式的除了我校四至九年级全体师生及校方领导外，还有NSDA全美演讲与辩论联盟的嘉宾们。

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With the establishment of Maple Leaf Educational School District – Hubei, the competition this year is open to all students from Wuhan, Jingzhou and Xiangyang campuses. After class and grade elections, the Hubei district and system-wide competitions will be held on Dec. 6 and 20 in Wuhan campus.

本届英语演讲比赛面向湖北大区全体学生，主题为“融入世界，改变世界——中国梦，枫叶梦”。比赛共设小学低年组、小学高年组、初中组和高中组四个组别，赛程包括海选、年级赛、湖北大区赛和集团赛四个阶段；其中，湖北大区赛和集团赛分别将于12月6日和12月20日在武汉校区举行。

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In the Opening Ceremony, international teacher Janis and eight student representatives shared with us their growing experience with doing English speeches. Practice is the key to their success in public speaking. In Maple Leaf, the 5-min speech before classes offer students more chances to learn, to improve, and to be more talkative and confident.

启动仪式上，外教Janis和八名学生代表将他们与演讲的故事向我们娓娓道来。不论是上课回答问题，还是参加各种比赛，抑或是登台表演，大家通过不断的学习和练习演讲技巧，从最初的畏惧、胆怯变得开朗、积极和自信。在枫叶，每天的课前5分钟演讲更为大家提供了锻炼的机会，让学生们勇于并乐于表达自己、展现自己。

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Afterwards, Mr. Cale Hailey from NSDA addressed the ceremony, and Mr. Zhang delivered the membership certification to our school.

随后，NSDA中国区学术总监Cale Hailey先生为启动仪式致辞，并由NSDA武汉认证教练、裁判张老师为我校颁发了合作校授权牌。

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Meanwhile, Jingzhou campus was having their Opening Ceremony of the Speech Competition as well. Students’ speeches, details in the rubrics and the proposal all served as the impetus for students’ participation.

与此同时，荆州校区的启动仪式也在有序进行。往届英语演讲比赛优秀选手展示、比赛规则解读以及比赛倡议，都为同学们参加今年的比赛提供了强大的动力和信心。

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Speech is an art of language. The speakers express their thoughts, values and perceptions through speeches. As what Ms. Yu, the principal, said in her speech at the end of the opening ceremony, we wish every student to grasp every opportunity to show the best of themselves, to inherit the national culture, to broaden their global view, and to be the international elites.

演讲是一门语言的艺术，演讲者除了通过演讲传达自己的观点和感悟，更是语言力度和思维深度的体现。正如余校长在最后的讲话中所说，希望同学们能把握住每一个锻炼自己的机会，尽情挥洒聪明才智与英语风采，立足民族文化，开拓国际视野，在求知中应用，在应用中提高！

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