Monday, August 27, 2012

Welcome to the 2012-13 Competitive Season!

WELCOME TO A NEW YEAR!

It's time for another school year and another competitive season! This year (2012-13) promises to be full of energy, high expectations, and lots of great success. We have over 65 enrolled competitors in the program, as well as a few students who will be competing at tournaments who are not enrolled in a debate/drama course.

We've launched this blog site as a resource for our students, parents, and community. With announcements of upcoming events, results and reflections of tournaments, and more, we hope that this blog serves a useful purpose for everyone who has an interest in LSDF. As the year progresses, the site will probably change in form, so we ask that you have patience with us as we adapt to using this technology. For many of us administrators (a.k.a. team staffers), blogging is a fairly new thing.

Since debate is based on discussion and open dialogue, we want to present that to you in the form of this blog. Please feel free to post comments and questions directly on the blog. You may also contact any of the coaches as well as the parent booster president by using the "contact us" feature. Please do not hesitate to ask questions or provide ideas.

And now, time for our first announcement!

MANDATORY PARENT MEETING
(Date) Thursday, August 30, 2012
(Time) 7:00-9:00 PM
(Location) LSHS Lecture Hall

Why do we require a parent meeting?
There are a lot of procedures and protocols used in debate/forensic competition, including transportation issues, competition eligibility, academic vs. co-curricular goals, and much more. It is easier to explain all these things to one large audience than it is to 65+ sets of parents individually. For this reason, we try to get all the parents together at one time so that we can clarify any issues as well as answer any questions parents may have.

Do I need to bring my child?No. The students receive all this information during class time; therefore, it is not necessary for them to attend. However, they are more than welcome to attend if they would like (or if parents would like them to come along).

What if I cannot attend?
We realize that schedules are tight and often packed full with events. To that end, if you know that you will absolutely not be able to attend this mandatory meeting, please contact Nate Smith or another coach ASAP. Students are not allowed to compete until a parent has met with the coaching staff to review the procedures, and if an alternate date is needed, we will need to get that scheduled soon.

What do I need to bring?
A pen or pencil. Everything else will be provided.


We look forward to another outstanding year with a bunch of wonderful students!
Coaching Staff, LSDF