V OLUME 1 , ISSUE 3

SEPTEMBER GHS Speech & Debate

2013 - 2014

Congratulations to the GHS Speech and Debate team for starting

off the year with a bang at the Grapevine Tournament! Let’s keep

up the good work!

V OLUME 1 , ISSUE 3 P AGE 2

S & D at Grapevine

Varsity Speech & Debate competed against 98 schools from

around the country at a TOC (Tournament of Champtions) held

at Grapevine High School.

3rd Place

Sarah Zender & Maxwell Fritz - Duet Acting

And a bid to the National TOC held in Minnesota in May. If they

get 2 bids they qualify for Nationals. This is our very first bid to

the TOC Nationals ever!

Octafinalists

Ashley Tsao & Hannan Ahmed - Public Forum Debate

Semifinalists

Esrael Yohannes - Humorous Interpretation

Louise Nispteros & Liam McCoy - Duo Acting

Liam McCoy & Megan Eckert - Duet Acting

Jordan Guillory & Jochebed Fekadu - Duet Acting

Kathryn Owens & Dave Baychoo - Duet Acting

Quarterfinalists

Connie Ly - Dramatic Interpretation

Shamma Kabir - Dramatic Interpretation

GHS S PEECH & DEBATE P AGE 3

2013 - 2014

As always, THANK

YOU to our wonderful

coaches Mrs. Lory

Stewart and Mrs. Erin

Martens.

Additional thanks to

all of the parent

judges that volunteer

their time to help the

team out. You are

greatly appreciated.

Lastly, thank you to

the parents who are

willing to drive us to

school at six in the

morning and pick us

up at midnight. We

love you!

VICE PRESIDENT: Hello Speech and Debate! My name is Ashley Tsao

and I am your VP for the school year. As VP I hope to be a strong role

model that all Speech and Debate members can look up to. My two main

areas of expertise are Public Forum Debate and Foreign Extemporaneous

speaking. Within these two categories I aid in the creation of arguments,

cases, rebuttals, practice questions, and critiques. As an officer I am ex-

tremely proud to have the opportunity to lead such a fantastic group of peo-

ple. This year, as an officer, I hope to be able to push all members to do their

best and instill a great work ethic within all members. As for my personal

endeavors, I aspire to become a lawyer. I also enjoy playing the piano, the

flute, and reading lots of books. I look forward to having a great year!

PRESIDENT: Hi, my name is Jenna Chapman. As the president I aim to

provide insight and coordination to the other officers, help maintain a

stream of communication between Stewy/Martens and the team members,

and be readily available to address any concerns or difficulties experi-

enced by anyone on team. In Lincoln Douglas, I hope to work with others

to think of unique arguments which question common assumptions and to

constantly learn new ways to navigate a debate round. I feel that I am

never done learning. Personally, I enjoy camping and generally partici-

pating in activities that involve the outdoors. I am interested in philoso-

phy, human consciousness, and other subjects which question perception

and existence. I dislike exhibitions of a lack of curiosity and independent

thinking. I like socks and turtles. I hope to one day travel to as many

countries as I can in order to experience unique cultures and meet many

different kinds of people.

PRESIDENT: Hello, my name is Connie Ly. As president of the Speech

and Debate team, my job is to ensure that all of the officers are doing

their jobs and every member is working to the best of their abilities. I

believe that motivation through inspiration rather than fear is the best

policy. That is why I try to help every member as much as I can. Speech

and Debate is my priority, and it's like family.

VICE PRESIDENT: Hi! My name is Louise Nisperos. While this year is

going to ultimately be unpredictable, there are actions that we can take

to be our best. For the interpers, I will stay after school for however long

you me to, give you support, and be your mentor. And for the debaters,

go to any of the debate officers. I don't want to just be a leader; I want to

be someone you can metaphorically look up to and go to when you need

a friend because you've definitely got one in me. I wish everyone the

best of luck for the upcoming year (even though none of you need it).

HISTORIAN: Hi guys! I am your historian for the year Jordan Guillory. My duties reach far beyond tak-

ing pictures and organizing the slide show but I hope to be a role model and a leader for you all. I hope to

bring a new level of drive and accomplishment through the team through my own work ethic. Being an

officer, I feel as if I have a responsibility to take care of you all just know another part of my job is being

there for you all. I love all of you guys and want you know you can come to me for anything whether it's

a picture or an intro or a contention I'm here for y'all!

SPIRIT LEADER: Hey guys! My name is Esrael Yohannes. My duty as the Spirit Leader of the

Speech & Debate Team is to keep the team encouraged and upbeat during our season. Also, as a Senior

on this team, my duty is to help those who need assistance with pieces, tournament information, etc.

When I'm not doing Speech & Debate, I like to sing, play an insane amount of video games, work on

Taekwondo, and drink milk. After high school, I want to go to the University of Texas at Austin to

study Computer Science/Engineering in hopes to be a gameplay programmer for a video game com-

pany. My goal for Speech & Debate this year is to qualify for TFA State in HI, Duo, and Duet. DOMI-

NATE!!!!!

HISTORIAN: Hey, it’s Daniel and I’m your Speech and Debate co-historian (along with Jordan). As per

my direct duties, I will be taking pictures of the team at tournaments and other events to put on the bulletin

board and to put into the presentation created by Jordan and me for the end of the year presentation. I’m

also in charge of organizing team bonding and team encouraging activities specifically for pre, during, and

post tournament (ex. Encouraging notes and post tourney team dinners). Finally, I will also be collecting

extemp articles from news sources which compiles the most important news articles from multiple news

sources. I’m willing to accept any task presented to me that will benefit the team and I hope to serve you

well as your Speech and Debate 2013—2014 co - historian!

SECRETARY: Hello! My name is Hannan Ahmed. I take notes and make schedules and transcribe eve-

rything you turn in. An when you write it horribly I become unbelievably unhappy. Oh, and I’m available

if you need someone to talk to.

TREASURER: Hi, my name is Rohan Rereddy and I deal with all things finance related, like receipts,

checks, and taxes. Also I will handle donations and fees. I keep track of all expenses and school funding.

My obligation is to provide Mrs. Stewy with supportive help in dealing with extraneous aspects of tour-

naments and work shops; food, entry fees, judging fees, transportation costs, etc...

I will help plan parties, workshops, and other events. I can be support for other officers, when their duties

overwhelm them.