Dear Middle School/Junior High School Speech & Debate Coaches

February 23, 2016

Dear Middle School/Junior High School Speech & Debate Coaches:

The Greenspun Junior High School Speech and Debate program along with CCSD Student Activities are excited to host a middle school/junior high Speech and Debate Tournament to be held Saturday, April 23, 2016 at Greenspun JHS. Students in the 6th, 7th, or 8th grades are invited. We hope you can attend!

This will be a tournament with two speech event categories: Platform events- Original Oratory and Expos; the following Oral Interpretation events - DI, HI, Prose & Poetry, and Duo (or Duet); and two Debate events - Student Congress and Public forum.

Each student may enter one speech event and one of the two debate events. All of the following combinations for a student entry are possible:

·  entered in original oratory/expos only

·  entered in oral interpretation events only

·  entered in student congress only

·  entered in public forum only

·  entered in original oratory/expos and student congress

·  entered in original oratory/expos and public forum

·  entered in oral interpretation and student congress

·  entered in oral interpretation and public forum

We will be using Tabroom.com to register and tab the tournament. To enter your team and determine fees, click on http://greenspuntournament.tabroom.com.

Students should be dressed in business casual or business dress. Boys should wear slacks (not jeans), a polo or button down shirt. Girls should wear a skirt and blouse, or a dress, or dress slacks with a dress shirt. All clothing must conform to the CCSD dress code.

There will be an awards presentation at the close of the tournament. Students must be in competition attire to receive awards.

Transportation Options

1.  Teams larger than 7 must email Kristin Grimm by April 7, 2016 to determine transportation for your competitors.

2.  Rental vans or CCSD vans for teams 7 and smaller must complete the Rental Van or Van Request form (found in Speech and Debate-MS Interact icon) and fax it to 799-2328 by April 7, 2016. CCSD Student Activities will cover the cost of the rental van but cannot pay for gas.

3.  Have your team meet you at Greenspun JHS:

140 N. Valle Verde Dr.

Henderson, NV 89074

If you have any questions regarding the tournament, please contact: John McQueeney-Lotz at Greenspun JHS (702)799-0920 or Kristin Grimm at CCSD Student Activities (702) 799-8474 or email - .

We look forward to seeing you in April!

John McQueeney-Lotz Kristin Grimm

Speech and Debate Coach CCSD Project Facilitator

Middle School/Junior High Speech & Debate Tournament: General Information

1.  Tournament Date: Saturday, April 23, 2016

2.  Cost: $ 10 per student

School checks need to be made payable to Greenspun JHS and should be sent or delivered to Kristin Grimm at CPD on or before April 20, 2016.

CCSD Student Activities

Attn: Kristin Grimm

3950 S. Pecos-McLeod

Las Vegas, NV 89121

3.  Please post entries to Tabroom.com. The deadline for entries is Wednesday, April 20, 2016, but would prefer them by April 15, 2016.

4.  Tournament Schedule: (tentative)

8:00–8:45 Registration

9:00 Round 1 (Interp. Events & Original Oratory/Expos.)

10:00 Round 2 (Interp. Events & Original Oratory/Expos.)

11:00 Lunch Break

11:45 Finals (Interp. Events & Original Oratory/Expos.)

12:45 Public Forum & Student Congress Round 1

1:35-1:45 Break

1:45 Public Forum and Congress Round 2

2:45 AWARDS!

5.  Oral Interpretation includes – Dramatic Interpretation, Humorous Interpretation, Prose & Poetry and Duo.

6.  There is no minimum time for speech events; maximum time is 10 minutes and 7 minutes for PPI.

7.  Students may use scripts or note cards during their performances, although memorization is encouraged. If a memorized speech is of equal quality compared to a speech delivered with note cards or a script, the memorized performance will likely receive a better ranking.

8.  Congress Resolutions - on last page of this invitation and posted in tabroom.com

9.  Each session of Congress will last for 45 minutes. All speeches will be no more than 90 seconds. Two cross-examination questions may be asked after each speech.

10.  Public Forum Topic – Resolved: The United States should ban unhealthy "junk" food on public school campuses serving K-12 students.

11.  If a student is registered for Public Forum debate and their partner does not show up they may switch to Student Congress on the day of the event.

12.  IE and Debate event pairings are randomized by the computer tabulation program.

13.  A teacher or administrator from your school must accompany the students for the entire day.

14.  Various lunch options will be provided at the tournament, with most items costing just $1 to $2 at most. Hot dogs, nachos, baked goods, bottled water, soda, and other snack items will be available throughout the day.

15.  Payment must be received by Friday, April 20, 2016.

We look forward to seeing you here!

Congress Resolutions for the Greenspun JHS Tournament

A Resolution to Eliminate Contact Sports for Children

Whereas, Contact sports for children cause extensive healthcare issues; and

Whereas, More than 3.5 million children, ages 14 andyounger, are treated for sports related injuries; and

Whereas, Contact sports contribute to 21 % of all traumatic brain injuries that can lead to death or brain damage; now, therefore, be it

Resolved, By this Congress that banning of all contact sports for children, ages 14 and younger, shall take effect immediately.

A Resolution to Require School Administrators to Teach at Least One Class in Their Area of Expertise in Order to Stay Connected to Education

WHEREAS, A majority of school administrations do not teach a class pertaining to their specialty; and

WHEREAS, A disconnect is formed between students in classrooms and administrators; and

WHEREAS, Administrators do not understand the behavior of students as well as everyday teachers do; there be it

RESOLVED, By the congress here assembled that all K-12 schools in America require administrators to teach at least one class in their area of expertise.

A Resolution to Decrease Reliance on Standardized Testing

WHEREAS, the effectiveness of public education is based on national standardized test scores, and

WHEREAS, the current public education system relies heavily on standardized testing, and

WHEREAS, excessive blocks of actual learning are replaced with large windows of testing, and

WHEREAS, other forms of measuring student progress and aptitude exist; therefore be it

RESOLVED, that the government decrease the use of standardized testing in public schools in grades k-12; and be it further

RESOLVED, that future legislation will implement more effective and varied ways of testing student progress and achievement.

A Resolution to Boycott the 2022 World Cup in Qatar

Whereas, Qatar is a frequent violator of human rights and

Whereas, These human right violations include slavery, human trafficking, and poorly regulated safety conditions with regards to the construction of World cup stadiums.

Whereas, The ITUC has estimated that at least 4,000 migrant workers will die during the rapid construction in preparation of the world cup.

Whereas, Qatar’s government unfairly purchased the World Cup with over 5 million dollars in secret payments to FIFA officials. Be it,

Resolved, The United States should boycott the 2022 World Cup until the venue is moved or until Qatar reforms its safety and trafficking policies.