This is going to be a short posting… We are off to Georgia Tech!  If you would like to see the schedule, click here. If you would like directions, they can be found here. Additionally, click and you will find the parent permission form. Good luck to all!  Oh, and we are all meeting at THE COLLEGE OF COMPUTING!

Freddie Mercury perfmoming "We Are The Champions"

The Speech and Debate Team, also known as “The Jesters” competed at the Georgia Forensic Coaches Association State Championships this past weekend at Evans HS.  This tournament is for championships in all speech and debate events EXCEPT Varsity Policy Debate (which Grady won two weeks ago!).  Here are the results:

Novice Lincoln-Douglas Debate: Co-Champions- Rachel Citrin and Tatiana Johnson

Varsity Lincoln-Douglas Debate: Champion- Lucas Bailey; Semi-finalist- Noah Johnson

Public Forum Debate: Runners-up- Tyler Olson and Ashley Brown

Prose/Poetry: Third Place- Jahra Gholston

Duo Interpretation: Second Place- Taylor Walker/Laura King; Third Place- Quameeha Grandiot/Lukas Olson; Fifth Place- Marius Jackson/Jahra Gholston

Original Oratory: Sixth Place- Laura King

Dramatic Interpretation: Champion- Taylor Walker

Impromptu Speaking: Champion- Micah Plott; Second Place- Daniel Gilstrap; Fourth Place- James Holland; Fifth Place- Leith Meador

Extemporaneous Speaking: Champion- Leith Meador; Second Place- Isabelle Taft; Fourth Place- Emily Atkinson; Fifth Place- Cole Bagley

JV Policy Debate: Octofinalists- Holden Choi/Ben Dean

Overall, Grady HS won the State Speech and Debate Championship!!

Additionally, the following students have qualified for the Grand National Speech and Debate Tournament on Memorial Day weekend in Omaha, Nebraska:

Lincoln-Douglas Debate: Stephanie Styles, Lucas Bailey and Noah Johnson

Dramatic Performance: Taylor Walker

Original Oratory: Willamae Boling

Duo Interpretation: Quameeha Grandoit/Lukas Olson and Marius Jackson/Jahra Gholston

Extemporaneous Speaking: Leith Meador, Isabelle Taft, James Holland and Cole Bagley

Declamation: Daniel Gilstrap

Policy Debate: Michael Barlow/Holden Choi

Prose/Poetry: Sarah Dillard

Public Forum Debate: Tyler Olson/Ashley Brown

Our next tournament is the NFL National Qualifier at Georgia Tech next Friday and Saturday.  Thanks to everyone for their continued support!

The Jesters are off to Evans HS for the Georgia Forensic Coaches Association State Speech and Debate Tournament.  This is the State Tournament for all events other than varsity policy debate.  48 students from Grady HS will compete at Evans HS in Evans, Georgia (in the Augusta area).  JV policy debaters and Student Congress entries will leave from Grady on Friday, February 19 and stay overnight.  All others will leave VERY early on Saturday.  All the information can be found by clicking here. If you would like more information on the tournament schedule, it can be found here. GOOD LUCK, JESTERS!

Hey everyone, the practice at Agnes Scott is cancelled due to the really bad weather and the roads being a mess this morning.  Safety is most important for all of our Speech and Debate team, so please be careful today and with the rest of your weekend. Contact Mr. Herrera is you have questions or concerns.

[P.S. : Since our two BIGGEST tournaments of the year start the following weekend, please try to practice while at home over the break. If you want to win and are serious about these tournaments, find the time to practice.]

Meg Beyer is a student I worked with when I coached at the CDE Camp and is a former state champion LD debater.  She has arranged the workshop for tomorrow at Agnes Scott.  PLEASE NOTE:  The workshop on Saturday is NOT mandatory.  If roads are bad or if your child to not attend due to weather conditions, their grade will not be hurt.

Below is the text of an email sent to me by Meg Beyer.

I reserved rooms in Buttrick Hall at the Agnes Scott campus on the second floor: 211, 213, 217, 219, and 221 for this Saturday. The college’s address is 141 E. College Ave, Decatur, GA, 30030. You can take Ponce all the way in and just veer right at the Decatur sign, take a right on Trinity, and then follow the Agnes Scott signs to E. College/McDonough. If you all want to arrive together or around the same time, that would probably be a good idea, just so that none of your guys get bothered by Public Safety. You can park in the parking deck on McDonough, which runs perpendicular to E. College Ave.; the parking deck is right next to the main campus, and I’ll meet you there and walk you to Buttrick. If that doesn’t work out, you’ll just walk right out of the deck onto the main campus and it’s the second building on your right, second floor. The rooms are reserved all day, and we can figure out how to order in food, etc.

A HUGE congratulations to Ms. Lisa Willoughby and the varsity policy debate squad for winning the GHSA A/AA/AAA State title!  Michael Barlow, Holden Choi, Ngoc Vu and Ben Dean competed this past weekend at Marist School for the championship title.  Not only were they named Champions, but the squad was also undefeated!  Additionally, Michael Barlow was named top speaker on the affirmative side and Holden Choi won second-place speaker on the negative side.  Job well done, Grady debaters!

Due to weather concerns in both North Georgia and South Carolina, we will not be attending the Southside HS tournament in Greenville this weekend. News reports indicated that Virginia has already issued a “state of emergency” and North Carolina has already started canceling school. This decision was made in conjunction with principal Dr. Murray and follows APS guidelines. It is VERY unfortunate, as we were looking quite forward to the tournament and supporting a school that supported us at our tournament. We will keep Southside on our calendar for next year. Please feel free to contact Mario Herrera with any questions and/or concerns.

“The Jesters” are off to the Southside High School Center for International Studies in Greenville, SC.  If you would like details about the tournament itself, please click here. Details about the trip and the parent permission form can be found by clicking here.

GOOD LUCK TO MICHAEL BARLOW, HOLDEN CHOI, NGOC VU AND BEN DEAN AT THE VARSITY POLICY STATE TOURNAMENT THIS WEEKEND!  The Jesters are the defending champion in their division, and we wish these debaters the best as they debate to keep the title.  The tournament is February 5-6, 2010, at Marist.  Good luck!

Congratulations to coach Lisa Willoughby for being named a Key Coach at The Barkley Forum for High Schools at Emory University!  This is a great honor for a person who has not only been the cornerstone of the program at Grady High School, but her involvement within the Atlanta Urban Debate League has been a significant part in the success of that program.  We are all so happy for her!

Students did well at the tournament.  Congratulations to Tyler Olson and Ashley Brown for advancing to the double-octofinal round in Public Forum; Patrick Heflin advanced to quarter-finals in Dramatic Interpretation; and Leith Meador advanced to quarter-finals in Extemporaneous Speaking.  A job well done, Jesters!

Details to follow