Statement from Megan

This is another in a series of statements from juniors interested in being considered as officers for next year's team. If you'd like to comment, please email me at 4n6@sunspark.com. Please do not leave any negative comments on the blog.

Hi! I’m Megan Pratt, and am writing this to address the issue of the captain/co-captains for next year. I have been a member of the team for two years, and I’ve really enjoyed it. I think that Forensics is a great way to meet people and really establish bonds between all of the grades. I felt noticeably absent because of several conflicting activities this year, and wish I had been able to have the high level of involvement I was able to achieve my sophomore year. Realizing this, I e-mailed Mrs. Topham a couple of weeks ago to find out more about Novice Coordinator, as it was a role I remembered from my sophomore year that had sounded very interesting. She got back to me, and told me that this had been rolled into the position of co-captain. Because of this, I am interested in being considered for a position of co-captain next year.

As co-captain, I would be willing to work with the captain(s) and other co-captains to come up with a standardized system that could be followed through by the successors. I feel that many previous problems were solved this year. For example, attendance became a much more important issue than it had been my sophomore year, and I think that those policies should remain enforced. However, I still feel like many freshmen and sophomores find it easy to “slip through the cracks” and struggle to find an event/piece that they really excel at until their junior or senior year. Having experienced this myself, I would work very hard to help underclassmen figure out what they want out of Forensics and would help them achieve their goal. Since Mrs. Topham, Mrs. Eccleston, Mr. Ferges, and Mr. Pulio, and the captains are trying to address everyone’s needs, I think it is important that we have one of the co-captains dedicated solely to Novices. Having a narrower range of duties for each captain/co-captain would provide more individual attention and be much less hectic. I think that using the database of pieces more often would also help with the ever-important issue of “finding a piece.”

I also feel that I could make a great contribution to the role of co-captain because of my organizational skills. Many of you who know me can attest to the fact that I can be a bit “OCD” at times, and feel that this could actually be a positive contribution! I would work meticulously to keep track of practice and tournament attendance, and would make sure that all of those who placed would be recognized, as we did this year. I think that a balance of personalities amongst the captains and co-captains would be very important.

Most of all, I think that Forensics should be a place to have fun. Although sometimes getting up early in the morning for tournaments is rough, I have truly had a wonderful two years being a member on this team. I feel like I have met some really great people on the team, and know that whoever follows in the footsteps of this year's captain and co-captains will find it challenging, as they did such an amazing job organizing the group and making us into a “team.” I hope that next year’s team is just as supportive as this year’s, and that the “competition” aspect of Forensics remains between the schools. I think that with the right combination of people and ideas, we can work together to create a team that is both fun and efficient, and remains a favorite high school memory for many. Thank you so much!

SCOTIE WRAPUP...and beyond

So, yeah, we were all at SCOTIE, right? And we got word that LFHS had a fire...and no one from the forensics team had anything at all to do with it! (No names, no names...) And then, after a night of pizza, pillow fights, conversation, all night wandering (Oh, Julia!), and waiting waiting waiting for Mark, we were evacuated from the hotel by...a fire alarm!

And one team member had already left, an hour before, to prep his event, so he clearly had nothing to do with it. (No names, no names...)

With the morning came breakfast, that fire alarm, more rounds, Fuddruckers, key chains, SCOTIE t-shirts (such an artistic fashion statement; just ask Jeff, who was the first participant to buy one, thus earning himself a hug from Tournament of Hugs director Phyllis Warr), and home again home again...via a tollway plaza stop for coffee and ice cream.

Oh yes, and the absolutely inevitable totally insane judges!

All in all, an enjoyable way to end the season...at least the competition season.

But SCOTIE only signals that we have no more tournaments. It does not signal that we are DONE. We still have to select new officers, find a good date for the banquet/showcase, and begin looking ahead to next year. To do this we will need to meet, though we probably will need more notice than one day to get a meeting together. I'm thinking a week from tomorrow: the first Monday of March. Let's plan to meet then.

Keychain winners at SCOTIE:

Catherine and Jeffrey
Sarah and Claire
Jeff and Claire
Sarah
Rachel
Julia
Vibhav
Mark
K Lukas

Statement from Danielle

Another in a series of statements from those interested in being officers next year. Please email your responses either to 4n6@sunspark.com or ktopham@d115.org.

I’m Danielle Springer, and I just wanted to give a quick statement addressing my desire to be a forensics captain next year. I have been a member of the team for two years, and it has definitely become one of my biggest commitments in high school. I love being a member, and I feel as if I have built close relationships with many members, including novices as well as the graduating seniors. I have attended every meet possible, including most of the meets this year and all of the meets last year. I really love participating and I would like nothing more than to be a leader next year.

Many of you know me very well, and I am sure you can all agree that I am very organized, driven, and able to handle a leadership position. I have been held many other leadership roles, including ITS and Frosh/Soph play. But I also know that forensics is place for everyone to have fun! I would work to make forensics an enjoyable environment. For example, I felt that novice day this year was very effective. I would make an effort to make sure that all novices feel comfortable joining our tight-knit group at forensics. I feel that I am easy to talk to, and would be able to provide guidance to newcomers. This year I often helped block scripts or edited the speeches of younger members.

If I were a captain next year, I would work to increase attendance and involvement from all members. I would try to make each member feel valued, and also make sure that students do not attend unless their coaches are sure that they are qualified. I know that this idea was implemented this year, but I would make sure that it is taken seriously by all members.

I would also try to establish a “mentoring system” where each new member is paired with a varsity member who can help them choose an event, introduce them to the coaches, and help them select a piece. I think this would really improve our numbers on the team because each newcomer would have a close relationship with someone who “knows the ropes” and would not feel overwhelmed by the team or by the numerous different events. This system would require juniors and seniors to take a more active role, and as a result everyone would have a stronger commitment to the team.

I know that if I were a captain next year, everyone could rely on me. I am organized, committed, and have a lot of new ideas to offer. I hope that everyone on the 2008 team will feel valued, and be able to have a great time. I also hope that next year will be our most competitive and organized. I am definitely looking forward to next season!

statement from jeff nickels

another in a series of statements from those interested in being captains next year...
please send me your feedback at ktopham@d115.org

My name is Jeffrey Nickels, and I am a junior this year. I’m writing to inform you of my interest of being a team captain for next year. This year ends my second full year as a Forensics team member, and I feel the time I’ve put into Forensics, including every meet this year and most of last year’s meets, has given me the experience and leadership skills needed to be a captain.

If appointed captain, one of my main priorities would be to try and expand our team’s numbers by actively promoting Forensics and really working with newcomers to try and make them feel like a part of the team as soon as possible. I also think that more leadership from captains and experienced members will be needed, and delegating some coaching duties to juniors and seniors will increase efficiency as well as team-building.

Having Tuesdays be set aside for showcase performances in front of the rest of the team is a great way to get everyone involved and to receive necessary feedback, and as captain I would work to expand that idea so that at least one day out of the week would be set aside for teammates in a particular event to work together and perform their pieces in front of each other so as to give each other feedback and to be exposed to other pieces in their given event.

These are only some of the ideas that I would promote as a captain next year. I believe Forensics is primarily about the team, and by having students take more active leadership roles, working to expand our roster and training novices with special attention, and increasing peer criticism by having members in similar events work together, I believe the team will become stronger, more competitive, and more efficient than ever before.

Thank you for reading my thoughts on how to improve our Forensics team. I would love to talk with any of the coaches or other captain applicants about any or all of the ideas listed above, and hopefully we can work together to make our Forensics team of next year our best yet. Thanks again.

SCOTIE people, updated 2/19

Were you at either Thursday's or Tuesday's meeting? If not, you may be dropped from the SCOTIE team. See me ASAP.

All team members must work with coaches this week.

Basic info:

We will leave after 4th period Friday the 22nd and return around 3-4 PM on Saturday.
You may enter Wretched Interp, IDA, or Original Verse as a second event if you work on this with coaches.
We will be staying at the Marriot Suites in Downers Grove.
Mark, Vibhav and K Lukas will be along as student judges.

SCOTIE students are:

Sarah, Brianna, Rachel, Claire, Jeff, Jeffrey, Carter, Neil, Julia and Catherine.

All SCOTIE travelers must download and bring in a signed permission slip. Click here to download form.

Statement from Mark and Vibhav

This is one of a series of statements from teammates who desire to be officers for next season. Send feedback to me by clicking here. --kt

Mark and I wanted to let you know that we would be interested in being captains of the 4n6 team next year. As we've been on the team for three years now, we feel that we have had enough experience to lead the team. As captains, we would definitely be able to bring the team in a new direction right away during the off-season. We think that it is great that people are going to start digging into their pieces before the season starts. We also have some ideas about starting the year off with the novices next year.

We think that it would be cool if we could explain to them all the events on one day, and then break up into groups throughout the week. People who are interested in the events would go and see what the event is all about. We could call this Novice Week. We also think that we should have people at book buy next year telling freshmen about forensics. They did this for one acts, and it's very effective.

We think we should emphasize tournament attendance next year as well. Tournament attendance has been a major handicap for our team all year, and we feel as if we will be able to much better at tournaments and take on the bigger teams if we have more people going to every tournament, not just the ones the feel like going to. We should emphasize the importance of each team member to the team.

Mark and Vibhav

looking ahead

There are still a few things to take care of before we call the 2007 season complete, and they revolve around you.

First, we have to work on keeping our first place winners in practice for SCOTIE on the 22nd and 23rd. All qualifiers should see coaches to sign up for practice slots over the next couple of weeks. We'll be as flexible as we can.

Second, there is the matter of the banquet/showcase. We do not have a date yet, but once we do we will need to coordinate the showcase itself as well as the food signups. I can try to take care of the latter through the blog if it works.

In addition, we need to determine officers for next year. Last week, I asked all juniors interested in being considered for officer positions to submit a written statement explaining why they are interested and what they would bring to the team as a captain and to email that statement to me for posting here. Once these are posted, I will ask for feedback from all current team members before the coaches make their selections.

Another change this year will be our method of determining team awards. The coaches will continue to make the selection, as we always have. But this year, as we are with the selection of captains, we are asking for input from the team. Send emails nominating fellow forensicators for team awards. You don't need to specify which ones--we can determine that--but explain why you feel they are deserving.

The awards we give are:

• The Colby Cup (a kind of MVP)
• The Brown Novice Award (sort of Rookie of the Year)
• Drama Award (Varsity and Novice divisions)
• Speech Award (Varsity and Novice divisions)
• Combined Speech and Drama Award (Varsity and Novice divisions)
• The Ferry Award (team spirit/dedication; determined by captains)