By Tamee Railey

COURTLAND

On April 18, Riverdale Elementary School hosted the fourth annual Mr. and Miss Riverdale, Believe in Yourself Pageant. The purpose of the pageant 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 fifth grade were encouraged to participate for the following titles: Pre-Kindergarten and kindergarteners competed for the title of “Little Mr. and Miss Riverdale;” first and second graders competed for the title of “Young Mr. and Miss Riverdale;” third and fourth graders competed for the title of “Junior Mr. and Miss Riverdale;” and fifth graders competed for the title of “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 Believe in Yourself pageant named overall winners for each age group, as well as presented 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: Jerrell King, Sabrina Tann and Angela Jeffries.

Several queens and pageant winners were also in attendance to assist contestants of the Believe in Yourself pageant. Miss Southampton High School 2019, Tasia Smith, and Junior Miss Southampton High School 2019, Abby Saunders, were honored as special guests. Franklin-Southampton Fair Queens and Relay For Life Queens were also introduced and honored during the event.

Congratulations to the overall winners: Little Miss Riverdale Alia Brahmbhatt, Little Mr. Riverdale Chase Rooks; Young Miss Riverdale Nailah Muhammad, Young Mr. Riverdale Curtis Pope; Junior Miss Riverdale Jaidah Hunt, Junior Mr. Riverdale Amir Barnes; Miss Riverdale Eliza Edwards and Mr. Riverdale Kelin Benjamin.

Winners were crowned by Mr. Riverdale 2018 Peyton Clements and Miss Riverdale 2018 Ava Raiford. 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.