My child is involved in lots of other activities.  How can he/she participate in speech and debate too?
Speech and debate are some of the most flexible co-curricular activities students can participate in.  It’s not like being on a sports team where students must attend practices five or six days a week and must attend every game.  For speech, practices can be scheduled individually with Mrs. Witham or Mr. Hicks at a time that works within your child's schedule, including during the school day.  For debate, practices are only held a few times a week, and it is not required that students attend every practice.  Tournament participation for both speech and debate is determined by the student.  If your child can attend a competition, then he/she signs up for that particular tournament in room 271 a couple of weeks ahead of time.  If your child can’t make it to a particular tournament, then he/she doesn’t sign up for it.  It’s that simple!  Speech and debate seasons run from October to March, so there are plenty of opportunities to compete and earn NFL points even if your child is involved in other activities.

When are practices held?
Beginning in late September, debate practices will be held with Mr. Kantz in room 271.  Times and days may change depending on student schedules.  Practices with Mr. Ferries-Rowe will be set according to student schedules.  Neither coach requires that students attend every practice, but it is expected that students will attend at least one practice a week.

Beginning in late October, speech practices will be held every Wednesday after school from 3:30-4:30 PM in room 273.  It is not required to attend these sessions, but practice is essential for success in competition.  If your child can’t make it to team practices, he/she can always schedule a time with Mrs. Witham or Mr. Hicks during the school day for individual practice.

When are tournaments held?
Tournaments are mostly held on Saturdays and last most of the day.  There are a couple of larger tournaments which begin on Friday evening and continue through Saturday.  For current dates of competition, see “Tournament Schedule” or check out the school calendar.

What would my child be doing if he/she was on the speech team?
There are many different events in speech competition.  Most are individual events, meaning that students compete as an individual contestant.  There are a couple of events in which students compete as a team with a partner.  Speech events fall into one of two categories: public address and oral interpretation.  Public address means that students are displaying public speaking skills.  Oral interpretation is the performance of literature.  These events are essentially competitive performance.

What would my child be doing if he/she was on the debate team?
There are different events in debate competition.  Some are individual events, meaning that students compete as an individual contestant.  There are also some events in which students compete as a team with a partner.  In all events, each side takes turns speaking for a designated period of time with question and answer periods (cross examination).

How can my child join the speech or debate team?
Participating in speech and/or debate is easy and there are many ways to get started.  Students can attend a callout meeting or show up for a practice.  Students can come and talk to one of the coaches (see “Coaching Staff”).  Students can jump right in by signing up and attending a tournament.  It’s never too late in the season to get started.  Once your child has tried it, he/she decides how often to compete.  So what is your child waiting for?!  Get started on future success today!