By Lexi Paidas ’17

The Forensics Club−sounds like a science club, right? Not a bad guess, but it turns out that the forensics club members pick a piece of literature and perform it for individual and team points at a qualifying, semi-final or final competition. Forensics means “pertaining to public discussion,” based off the word Forum, which is a root of Forensics.

Junior Catherine White is the club’s president and a first place winner last year at the county wide competition. “The rest of the kids in the club are incredibly cool, and have become some of my best friends,” said White. “I can’t wait to see what the newbies in the club are going to bring to the table, and I’m eager to get to witness them find themselves as performers.”

The members pick a piece from either a speechmaker’s category (extemporaneous, informative or persuasive), interpretation category (serious poetry, serious prose, humorous literature, serious drama, or children’ lit) or the group category (reader’s theatre and ensemble acting). Members are allowed to perform multiple pieces in multiple categories.

Club sponsor, English teacher Christopher Goodrich, has been involved in Forensics at the high school level for five years and has been Sherwood’s Forensics Club sponsor for one. He also competed when he was in high school. “[Forensics] allows students to perfect something they need to be successful: talking in front of people. If you are good at that, or can fake being good at that, then in all likelihood, you will make your way to the top of the human food chain pretty quickly,” said Goodrich.

Last year the club sent five students to quarter-finals, four to semi-finals, and three to the final competition. The club won 5th place overall.

“Last year was my first year ever competing, and so I was pretty thrilled to even make it to finals [top 6 competitors in each category make it to the finals]. When they called my name for first place I was ecstatic, and getting to perform the pieces in front of my biggest supporters, Mr. Goodrich and my mom, at the awards ceremony was the best feeling,” said White.

The club members have their first competition October 24 at Blake High School. The club also has future plans to open a clinic for public speaking for students who have a speech or piece of writing that they need to perform at school, or anywhere else.