by Hilliary Story

COURTLAND
On Friday, March 24, Riverdale Elementary School hosted the second annual Mr. and Miss Riverdale, Believe in Yourself Pageant. The purpose was to promote self-confidence to achieve one’s goals and aspirations.

Confidence comes from within, from the deep belief in yourself and your abilities; therefore, hosting a Believe in Yourself Pageant would build upon these necessary qualities to prepare our students for lifelong success.

All students in Pre-kindergarten through 5th grade were encouraged to participate for the following titles: Pre-Kindergarten and Kindergarteners competed for title “Little Mr. and Miss Riverdale;” First and second graders competed for title “Young Mr. and Miss Riverdale;” third and fourth graders competed for title “Junior Mr. and Miss Riverdale;” and fifth graders competed for title “Mr. and Miss Riverdale.”

Students were given a choice of a “Believe in Yourself Fashion” which was an outfit that shows off the contestant’s personality and individual style or a “Formal Wear fashion,” which was any type of fancy dress or suit.

Pageant participants introduced themselves on stage and answered a randomly selected question. All participants were judged on the following categories: Introduction; General Appearance; Presentation; and On Stage Question-and-Answer.

The pageant named overall winners for each age group as well as presenting each contestant with a title such as Best Introduction/Public Speaking, Best Stage Presence or Most Original Answer, just to name a few.

Riverdale Elementary would like to extend a sincere thank you to the following judges for their time and experience: Renee Markivich, Janet Joyner and Natasha Rose.

Several queens and pageant winners were also in attendance to assist contestants of the pageant. Miss Southampton High School 2017 Kelby Lewis, and Junior Miss Southampton High School 2017 Jamie Cogsdale were honored as special guests along with Taylor Anne, Pre-Teen Miss America 2017. Franklin-Southampton Fair Queens were also introduced and honored during the event.

The pageant audience was entertained by Riverdale students Isabella Edwards, Q’ahri Gordon and Aleysia Walton as they showcased their talents from the Riverdale’s Got Talent Show during the  intermission.

Congratulations to the overall winners: Little Miss Riverdale Amia Holden; Little Mr. Riverdale Javaree Smith; Young Miss Riverdale Elena Raiford; Young Mr. Riverdale Karter Thorpe; Junior Miss Riverdale Carlee Babb; Junior Mr. Riverdale Lucas Cutchins; Miss Riverdale Kamora Ali; and Mr. Riverdale Lloyd Elliott. Winners were crowned by Mr. Riverdale 2016 Cam Jenkins and Miss Riverdale 2016 Katelin Dawson.

With over 70 participants, the pageant was truly a way to build students’ confidence and public speaking ease. Riverdale students are building their confidence to conquer their dreams.