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Great Galesburg Shake takes off for 4th year

The Great Galesburg Shake starts year four today of a competition that has asked hundreds of District 205 students to refine their manners while summoning their personality and poise.

Students in grade 4-12 have already qualified at their schools and 120 will be at the GHS Fieldhouse

The first round today will see 120 students who have already qualified in their schools speaking with community members.

Round 1 will whittle 120 to 24, and by the end of the day there will be 12 left in the running.

One of the competition’s organizers District 205 Outreach Worker Jody McNalley says there are some changes this year.

They sent a letter out to the competitors outlining some things they could practice or research ahead of time if they wished, things like prepare to write an ad for District 205 and being up to date on current events.

McNally tells WGIL however, there’s only so much students can do to get ready, “especially the younger kids have a lot of questions. ‘What am I supposed to say if this happens and what am I supposed to do,'” McNally said. “We try to tell them we can prepare you to a certain extent but really a lot of it is just putting yourself out there and being willing to look around and say, ‘hey there’s somebody sitting over there with nobody to talk to. I’m going to go introduce myself.'”

McNally says the first year they decided to let 4th and 5th graders participate to gain experience.

But as the years have gone by they’ve seen several competitive students from younger grades including 4th grader Hayden Musser cracking the top 8 last year.

McNally says the skills emphasized during the shake aren’t just a focus during the competition, but have integrated by district staff on a day to day basis. “Throughout the school year we’re seeing more people expecting kids to shake hands and use eye contact and speak up and do that ‘give and take’ conversation that sometimes gets lost when you’re speaking to the younger kids.”

McNally tells WGIL that they don’t want students to get bogged down by rules of etiquette to the point they’re “little robots.”

Students are told that the confidence to show their personality and sense of humor are a part of how the Shake is aiming to make students successful in the future.

The past winners of the Great Galesburg Shake are Sara Saey, Lakota Beach and last year Jacie Kersh.

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