March Madness Speech and Debate Tournament - Registration Open Now, Closes Feb 28!

To register for the Tournament go to the link: https://march.homeschooldebate.net/  ALL Vector Students should plan to compete in at least one event at this tournament! (If you cannot attend this tournament, please let me know.) Registration Closes on February 28!

4 things you need to do in registration:

1) Register for any events you plan to compete in (remember that last minute 'drops' cost $15 because they are a huge headache to the tournament staff the day of the tournament).

2) Register your parents as judges (each competitor needs to provide a judge for two rounds for each event the competitor has entered. There is a six round family cap.)

3) Pay for your registration via PayPal.  Payment must be received in advance as this is no collection the day of the tournament.  Please don't make Mrs. Watson track you down!

4) Sign up to bring Food -- and please be generous. The food is for ALL involved -- competitors, parents (siblings), and most importantly, our community judges. The Food list link is at the very bottom of the Registration Home page.

If you have any questions, please let me know!

Judges Needed

Vector is  hosting a parli tournament in Berryville this Saturday, February 22nd,  and we are short of judges.

Please consider judging even one round.  Ask your neighbors, friends, & relatives to volunteer for this important task.  A tournament cannot be run without judges.

If you are uncomfortable judging, you can volunteer your time copying ballots and stuffing envelopes (a very needed job). 

Register to judge on this link and share it with your friends! https://berryvilleparli.homeschooldebate.net

Announcing NITOC 2014!

The Stoa Board of Directors is pleased to announce that NITOC 2014 will be held at

California State University San Marcos

May 19-24

CSUSM is a fantastic facility located north of San Diego and about a dozen miles inland from the Pacific Coast. Yes, plans are already underway for a post-tournament beach party like so many of you enjoyed after NITOC 2010 and 2011 in San Diego!

We are grateful to God for opening this door when so many others were closed, and to you for your extraordinary patience in waiting for this announcement. Now that the venue is finalized, the Board’s attention is focused on planning the best NITOC ever! Leading our team is IE Committee Chair Craig Smith together with his wife Julie, directors of the wonderful Concordia Challenge for the past several years. They will be joined by experienced tournament administrators from around the country in putting on this most special event.

One benefit to the extensive search process for this year’s NITOC is that the Board made significant progress in planning for NITOC 2015 and 2016, and we hope to announce these future NITOCs earlier than ever.

On behalf of the entire NITOC 2014 team, we encourage you to continue competing to the best of your ability for the Glory of God, and we hope you can join us for what promises to be a fantastic championship tournament!

See you in California!

Debate this Week: Parli

This week, barring an impending snowstorm, we'll be doing parli. With that in mind students, here's a few things to do:

1. Email your partner, make sure they're coming.
2. Look over your ballots from the last parli tournament [or from memory], and bring a few items you'd like to work on/discuss. We'll take time to debrief.
3. Bring pens and paper. I haven't made up my mind whether we'll be doing a round or drills, but come prepared either way.

That's all! I look forward to seeing you there.

-CM

p.s. Don't forget to register for the January 22 tournament. See the previous post for details.

Reminder!

Don't forget to register for the February 22nd parli tournament. The deadline for registration is February 16th. 

Find the tournament details and registration here: https://berryvilleparli.homeschooldebate.net

See you all Thursday, 

Lily

P.S. Don't forget to sign up judges! Recruit, recruit, recruit! 

Mars Hill Pizza & Movie Party! Saturday, Feb 15th, 3 - 7:30pm

Come for Pizza, a Movie, and Fun prepping the next three categories of Mars Hill Topics for the March 15th tournament.  We'll discuss the topics, pull together summaries and put Mars Hill Notebooks together. Even if you are not planning on competing in Mars Hill this year, please come and help! Parents are welcome too!

Saturday, Feb 15th

3:00 - 7:30 pm

at the Millhouse home

RSVP: pkmillhouse@gmail.com by Feb 13th

What to Bring:

$3 for Pizza (per person)

Laptop Computer

1/2" 3-ring Binder

8 Divider Tabs

The 7 students who got together at Loco Joes this week prepped the categories for the Feb 8th Tournament. In an hour and a half they got it all done and had a great time in the process.  I hope this can be great way for us all to work together and have fun doing it!