Grapevine Entries Posted

Wondering who is debating at Grapevine next weekend?  Well...the entries have been posted!  Take a look and see who is going to enjoy the Dallas sunshine.

Attention Debate Parents

This message from parent Diane Schmidt:

As we start preparations for the season, we are compiling a group list of parent e-mail addresses.  While the website is still the best source of news and information, we will use e-mail to schedule volunteers for the tournament we host at North and to notify parents of any other important messages where a reply might be helpful.

If we did not receive your contact information at last week's parent meeting and you would be willing to share it, please send your student's name, parents' names, home phone number, and parent e-mail address to Diane Schmidt at rodneyanddiane@charter.net.

 We would also like to ask each family who is able to contribute $20 to the concession stand start-up costs for our tournament at North.  Please make a check out to "Lakeville Debate", write your child's name in the memo area, and have your student bring it to Julie Schmidt at practice.  More tournament information will be coming!

Thank you!!

FMSC Event Canceled

I want to thank everybody on the team for their enthusiastic response to the Feed My Starving Children volunteer opportunity.  However, another group was able to get "ahead" of us in line on the days we wanted to volunteer and so our participation dates are canceled.

We will continue to look for other opportunities to be active in the community.

Thanks!

PS. Thanks to Julie and Lindsay who worked to get the ball rolling on this idea.

2007 Debate Lettering Worksheet

The lettering worksheet for 2007 is now posted and you can download it now.

As in past years, you will need to earn 10 points in order to earn a letter.  Regardless of points earned, you will need to remain chemical-free. It is your responsibility to complete this form and turn it in to Andy Charrier by Monday, December 3rd. 

You have been given many opportunities to earn a letter in debate -- lettering should be more than just about winning and losing debate rounds -- and so you can earn points for team commitment and community participation as well.

One new way to earn 3 points this year is to pack food at Feed My Starving Children in Eagan. 

Parent Meeting on Wednesday

Our all-team parent+debater meeting will be held on Wednesday, August 22nd at 6:30 in room 248 of Lakeville North.  The theme of the meeting will be, "10 Ways to Help Your Debater Succeed".

After introduction of our coaches and captains, topics will be:

1. How to keep our chemical-free team chemical-free.
2. Where to find information about everything team-related.
3. What transportation is provided for the team.
   
4. How to create a productive study and work environment in your house.
5. How debate tournaments are run.
6. What to wear to debate (a renewed point of emphasis).
   
7. Who judges debate tournaments.
8. What goals to set as a debater.
9. What expenses are connected to debate.
10. Where you should be on Saturday, October 13th.

Finally, we ask that you bring along your checkbook.  We are going to also ask for a small donation to support the tournament on October 13th. 

Meet The Groups

Debate practice is underway in Lakeville. Here are some quick photos of each group.












The Avengers -- Coach Abbie









The Pummelers -- Paul












The Slammers -- Coach Steve












Team K -- Coaches Katie and Kenny












Just Plain Debaters

It's Death Penalty Time

2007 September/October Lincoln Financial Group/NFL L/D Debate Topic

Resolved: A just society ought not use the death penalty as a form of
punishment.

Grapevine Tournament Info

Everything Grapevine-related will be on this page.

Tournament is held at Grapevine High School. And it's a semis bid for TOC qualification.

Flight info is not finalized yet, but flights are plentiful and cheap. I'll need a $250 check by August 7th so we can purchase tickets.

We will fly out on the morning of Friday, Sept 7th and come back on the morning of Sunday, Sept 9th.

Hotel:
Holiday Inn Express Hotel & Suites
DFW-GRAPEVINE
309 STATE HWY 114 WEST
GRAPEVINE, TX 76051 UNITED STATES

Hotel has free breakfast and wireless -- big suites like we had at Valley last season.

The hotel is close to the high school. We'll use a shuttle to get from the airport and shuttle or taxi to get over to the high school. No need to rent a van.

Flight Info:
Minneapolis/St. Paul International Airport to Dallas/Fort Worth International
Friday, September 7
Flight: 3675
Depart: Minneapolis/St. Paul International Airport, September 7, 7:00 AM
Arrive: Dallas/Fort Worth International, September 7, 9:36 AM

Dallas/Fort Worth International to Minneapolis/St. Paul International Airport
Sunday, September 9
Flight: 402
Depart: Dallas/Fort Worth International, September 9, 8:00 AM
Arrive: Minneapolis/St. Paul International Airport, September 9, 10:26 AM

North:
Tyler
Tom
Steven
Courtney

South:
Sarah
Julie
Tim
Mike

Judges:
Andy
Abbie
TBD

First Practice is Aug 13

Several important reminders -- for ALL Lakeville debaters.

1. In order to practice, you need to sign up and complete your paperwork + activity fee. All of this is available online and is the same paperwork for all the schools.
   
   
2. Our first practice will start at 5:30 PM in the IMC (Library) of North.
   
   
3. We will all attend the chemical awareness meeting from 6 to 6:45PM -- it's the exact same presentation for both schools, so come to North no matter what. When the meeting is over, practice is over.
   
   
4. We will have an all-team, all-parent meeting on Wednesday, August 22nd at 6:30 PM in room 248 of North.
   

Activities Fair

Jackie, Julie, Tyler, and Elisabeth represented debate at the North and South Activities Fair. A special "clap for Julie" because she made the display boards that were used at both schools. Bravo!

Possible Sept-Oct Topics

Credit goes to VBD for posting this information, but here are the potential topics for Sept-October.  Speculate all you want now, we'll know about 7AM on the 15th (assuming timing pattern holds).

Resolved: In United States courts, victim impact statements ought to influence sentencing.

Resolved: The precautionary principle ought to guide environmental regulations.

Resolved: The United States government ought to allocate humanitarian aid to foreign nations based on the need of recipients rather than its own interests.

Resolved: A just society ought not use the death penalty as a form of punishment.

Resolved: In the United States public university admissions, socioeconomic disadvantage ought to be a higher priority than race.

Resolved: In the United States, the federal government ought not limit the autonomy of local school districts to determine their own curriculum.

Resolved: On balance, in its trade agreements the United States ought to value the welfare of workers in developing countries over its economic gains.

Pre-season Dinner at Julie's

Our annual pre-season kick-off dinner is this Saturday, August 11th at 6PM. Hosting the party this year is Julie's family. Beside doing some catching up, we're also going to talk for a few minutes about expectations, goals, and logistics for the upcoming season.

Julie lives at 20612 Jupiter Path in Lakeville. Here is map with directions as well.

The dinner will be organized as a potluck, so everybody needs to bring something. I will provide items to be grilled (brats -- pork, chicken, turkey, etc. and veggie burgers) and buns and fixings.

10th grade -- you should bring a salad of some kind
11th grade -- something using fruit as main ingredient
12th grade -- yummy desserts

Please drop Julie an email so she knows about how many to expect. (Not RSVP-ing is considered rude, btw.)

2007 Vassar Round Robin

The field for the 2007 Vassar Round Robin has been made public and we're happy to announce that Lakeville South's own Christian Keil has been invited.  The tournament features a select group of non-senior debaters from across the nation.   Here is the list:

Alex Ackroyd (Palo Alto High School, CA)
Ross Brown (Valley High School, IA)
Ken Hershey (Scarsdale High School, NY)
Ben Holguin (Edina High School, MN)
Christian Keil (Lakeville South High School, MN)
Nikita Lalwani (Scarsdale High School, NY)
Daniel Moerner (Los Altos High School, CA)
Jake Nebel (Trinity Preparatory School, FL)
Ellen Noble (Walt Whitman High School, MD)
Alyson Promes (Lake Highland Preparatory School, FL)
Michael Shagrin (Brentwood School, CA)
Saboor Sheerazi (The Bronx High School of Science, NY)
Matt Thomas (Monticello High School, NY)
Paul Tyger (Strake Jesuit College Preparatory School, TX)
Shivani Vohra (The Hockaday School, TX)
Katherine West (Mountain Brook High School, AL)