Academics News
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New LD Handbook Availiable for Students and Coaches
By Jana Riggins | Thursday, September 10, 2009 12:00 PM
As you or your Academic Coordinator prepare your order for UIL study materials this fall, don’t forget to include the new UIL Lincoln Douglas Debate Guide.
With the continuing evolution of LD Debate and changing styles and trends, the League commissioned a brand new manual. Larry McCarty, long-time educator, successful debate coach, UIL Sponsor Excellence Award recipient and LD State Advisory Committee member is the author of this student-friendly text. Larry’s continued involvement in concentrated debate research made him a logical choice to write this new manual.
Included in the book, most notably, is an entire chapter devoted to philosophy. Additional chapters include: Introduction to LD Debate, Fundamentals of Value Debate, Evidence and Research, Preparing the Case, Cross-Examination Strategies, Communication and Refutation, and Tournament Competition.
All-State Journalism Staff Named
By Jeanne Acton | Wednesday, September 09, 2009 12:55 PM
Thirty-seven students have been named to the 2008-09 All-State Journalism Staff. To qualify for the staff, students must have earned 50 points by participating and winning different journalism contests throughout the year. Students can earn points by participating in UIL invitational contests, UIL district, regional and state contests, as well as ILPC and similar type journalism contests.
League Announces Fall Lincoln Douglas Debate Topic
By staff | Friday, August 28, 2009 2:21 PM
Debaters eager to sink their teeth into this year’s fall topic don’t have to go hungry any longer. The Lincoln-Douglas Debate resolution released by the UIL State Office for use at invitational meets from September through December 2009 is RESOLVED: Standards of professional behavior ought to be valued above freedom of expression on social networking websites.
OAP Announcements for the New Year
By 0 | Friday, August 14, 2009 11:50 AM
New Enrollment Procedures
2009-2010 will be the first year for the new online entry system for OAP. Directors and principals will need to work in tandem to enroll, register their title and submit eligibility information.
Schools wishing to participate in OAP must enroll by midnight Oct. 1. The director will enroll the school via the Spring Meet Entry System. After that the principal will need to verify the enrollment via the Gateway System. Title Registration is required by Feb. 23 and does not require administrative verification.
No later than 10 days prior to your first contest, directors will need to submit eligibility, play and scenic information online. The principal will need to verify this also.
Instructions are available for download as a pdf or PowerPoint files from our Web site. Click on the Spring Meet Entry System button. Demonstrations will be scheduled for the Student Activities Conferences.
Do this as soon as possible and contact us regarding any bugs you may find. We hope this proves to be an efficient way to get this done.
New Fees
Please note that the reading/ set fees have gone up to $30 and that the library fee is now $7.
Student Activity Conferences Begin in Fall; Tech SAC Rescheduled for September
By Staff | Thursday, August 13, 2009 12:22 PM
Every year, the League offers four Student Activity Conferences across the state. At the conferences academic coaches, coordinators and their students can receive first-hand knowledge on how to prepare and hone their skills for the academic contests.
Texas Committee Shines at CX Topic Selection Meeting
By Jana Riggins | Thursday, August 13, 2009 12:20 PM
Texas took the lead at the 2009 Cross-Examination Debate Topic Selection meeting held August 7-9. Although the meeting was held in Grand Island, New York, our state had the largest participating delegation, with four coaches and one student authoring study reports for topic consideration and four additional Texas delegates active in Marshall subcommittees.
Each year, the CX Topic Selection meeting is sponsored by the National Federation of High School Associations and hosted by the local site state association. Representatives from states throughout the nation participate in the selection process to produce topics, five of which are tapped for a national balloting.
Preparing study reports were UIL representatives Rachell Grant from Hallsville ISD, Matthew Murrell from Round Rock McNeil HS, Kenneth Rohrback from Three Rivers and Noah Abolafia-Rosenweig, student at Smithson Valley High School, assisted by his coach, Drake Mikeska. Other delegates included Chad Flisowski, Gay Hollis, and Aaron Timmons. I served on the Wording Committee and as the official voting delegate for Texas. Dr. Rich Edwards from Baylor University served as consultant to the committee.
Elite 100 Models What Academic Coaches Do Every Year
By Treva Dayton | Thursday, August 13, 2009 12:12 PM
Welcome back to another school year! We hope it is a truly successful one, and that UIL participation provides wonderful challenges and educational experiences for you and your students. We, at the League, are especially excited, as we will be celebrating UIL’s 100th birthday. Our Centennial Celebration will include a variety of activities throughout the year, and our member schools, coaches, advisors, directors, coordinators, students and former competitors will all have the opportunity to participate. Please see our Centennial website at www.uil100.org for our updated archives, great photos and events and activities as they are posted.
We kicked off our celebration with the Elite 100 Student Leadership Conference on the UT Austin campus in June. The conference brought together 100 outstanding Texas high school students, who attended workshops on leadership, communication, conflict management, community service, self-analysis and working effectively with others. Students also participated in a community service project at one of three local school campuses and worked in teams to provide input about what they felt UIL should become in the future.
Journalism Skills Help Find Answers on Peanut Allergy Journey
By Jeanne Acton | Thursday, August 13, 2009 12:05 PM
Our peanut journey started more than a year ago.
When my two-year-old son was diagnosed with the allergy, I went a little nuts. Yeah, I know — the play on words is a little much, but it is the truth.
You may remember I wrote a column documenting my slip into insanity and my transition back to reality. The bottom line was, his life-threatening diagnosis reminded me to keep life in perspective.
Since that column, I’ve had numerous calls and well wishes from journalism teachers across the state.
You really are an amazing support group.
Since I shared the initial diagnosis with you, I wanted to share the latest news. My little guy is almost free from his peanut/nut allergy.
It’s been a long journey and a somewhat expensive one but definitely well worth it.
A+ Academics: Reminders to Start the New Year
By David Trussell | Thursday, August 13, 2009 12:03 PM
Not only do summers in Texas seem to get hotter every year, they also seem to get shorter, at least in terms of having a break between school years. It hasn’t been that long ago that we were wrapping up 2008-09, but here we are with a new school year already upon us. Following are some important items to keep in mind as you begin your preparations for this year’s A+ competitions.
Registration
Every school that participates in the A+ Program must register with the state office every year. This is how we keep our contact information current, and how we are able to send you a complimentary copy of the new A+ Handbook. You can find the online registration form at www.uil.utexas.edu/academics/aplus. With online registration, you can search for your school, view the information we have on file and send us only any changes that are needed (new UIL coordinator, new principal, etc.). You also receive an immediate confirmation that your form has been received, as well as a follow-up e-mail a few days later.
The deadline for participation registration is Nov. 15. If your school is in an ISD with at least one UIL member high school, there are no separate membership fees for A+ participation. If you do not have a member high school, contact the UIL office for membership information.
Feature Speaker, Mother Shine at Academic State Meet
By Jeanne Acton | Monday, June 01, 2009 12:45 PM
Photo by Jeanne Acton
If you missed the UIL Academic State Meet this year, you missed something special.
If you asked the teenage girls, that something special was 27-year-old Jared Padalecki, star of Supernatural and former regular on Gilmore Girls. He was our feature speaker this year.
Rather than attempt to describe his looks in detail. After all, I am pushing 40 and don’t want you to think I’m a cougar, so I’ll simply state the facts. He is tall. He is lean and muscular, and he is tanned.
Not surprisingly, he’s been selected to two or three “sexiest celebrity” lists.
The girls and several of the advisers and a couple of the judges went all jello over him.
In fact, he was so intimidating that I wasn’t sure if any student was going to snap out of the star-struck state to ask a question. Luckily, Jared is an easy-going guy, and he quickly put the crowd at ease.