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Read the Fall 2022 Newsletter by Anna Van Riesen '24

10/29/2022

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Momentum & Milestones: Important Updates and To-Dos for Students & Parents

10/29/2022

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It’s hard to believe we’re a quarter of the way through the 2022-2023 season! We’ve held 10 practices and attended 10 tournaments; our membership has shattered records and is still growing, averaging 100+ students each week at practices for the last month. If you weren’t able to attend our Welcome Night & Parent Orientation a month ago, I’d encourage you to watch the recording – especially the superb keynotes by Drew Vetteth ‘23 and Terra Majors ‘23. 

Last summer, we set an ambitious goal to break into the top 10 programs in California (we started at #13). Rankings are based on our overall standing in the Honor Society of the National Speech & Debate Association. Although the season is young and rankings will shift, we’ve already proven we can do it: on October 16th, we claimed the #10 spot for the first time. Incredibly, it’s possible we’ll achieve next year’s goal to reach the top 5 by spring.

As a reminder to our students, especially our new members: our program communicates using Slack, including sharing announcements for tournament sign-ups and details about practices. If you haven’t downloaded the app to your computer and/or phone, please do so. 

​

Safety & Wellness

As the school year and season get busier, it’s important for all of us to look out for each other, take time to care for our health & wellness, and remain grounded in focusing on learning and growing more than winning. Everyone deserves to feel supported and able to voice concerns. Please don't hesitate to reach out by email, phone, Slack, or in-person if you're experiencing discomfort, difficulties, or have concerns about someone else. Our school also has several options for reporting incidents. 

COVID-19 Requirements & Forms
Our local league, the Coast Forensic League (CFL), requires all students, coaches, judges, and chaperones to complete a COVID-19 Safety Form in order to compete at any CFL tournament. Beginning 1/1/2023 the CFL definition of 'fully vaccinated' will also include the Omicron bivalent booster. Anyone who is not fully vaccinated must get a negative PCR test result before a tournament. 


Travel Waiver Permission Slips 
Some students are still missing travel waiver permission slips on file, which are necessary for participation at in-person tournaments. Please review the list of received paperwork, and if you’re not on the list, please complete the form.

Check The Calendar

Please review our practice, tournaments, and event calendar and make a habit of checking weekly to ensure you’re aware of all opportunities to participate and compete. 

Judge Trainings
Optional parent/volunteer judge trainings will continue in November, with our next session held on ZOOM from 7:00-8:30pm on Thursday, November 3. Another ZOOM session will be held from 7:00-8:30pm on Saturday, November 12. 




Thank you, as always, for your enthusiasm, effort, and commitment to competing with respect, integrity, and kindness. It feels like there aren't enough opportunities in my day to brag about everything amazing happening on our team, because there's just so much of it all around. Please reach out anytime with any comments, questions, or concerns. 
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We're Underway! Important Updates and To-Dos for Students & Parents

9/14/2022

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On Tuesday, September 13th, we welcomed 55+ novice members to our program at Novice Night – and we expect to welcome even more in the next couple weeks! It's a busy, exciting time for us at PASD. We also wrapped up our first tournament, the University of Kentucky Online Season Opener (UKSO), where Sarabeth Huang '24 & Sophia Kim '24 turned in stand-out performances in Public Forum Debate, making it to the top 16 teams in a highly competitive field of 135+. They earned a Silver Bid to the Tournament of Champions (TOC)!

With practices & tournaments underway, there are quite a few important to-dos for both students & parents. I've created a new centralized tournaments spreadsheet so you can more easily visualize the entire 2022-23 season.

To-Dos For Students
  • Download the Slack app to your laptop/phone and join the Paly Speech & Debate Slack space to receive all updates and announcements. If you're not on Slack yet, email Kyle at KyleHietala@gmail.com to get added. 
  • Create an account with the National Speech & Debate Association and request to be added to Palo Alto High School. This is necessary for you to attend tournaments. 
  • Start attending Tuesday practices with the team. You must check Slack channels for each squad (Congress, Extemp, LD, PF, Speech) for details about exactly where & when to meet. You can attend any squad practice, and you don't have to stick with the same squad each week. 
  • [OPTIONAL] Order a newly designed team t-shirt! Orders are due by September 25th.
  • [OPTIONAL] Schedule a start-of-season 1:1 meeting with Kyle to discuss your goals. 

To-Dos for Parents
  • Complete the Day Trip Waiver Permission Slip
  • RSVP for Welcome Night & Parent Orientation on 9/29 @ 7pm (intended primarily for new members, but also encouraged for returners). 
  • RSVP for a Parent Judge Training session (we rely on parents to judge, as it is required by our league for most tournaments). 
  • Create an account on Tabroom so you can receive updates about your child's participation in tournaments. 
  • [OPTIONAL] Complete the Volunteering & Support Form if you'd like to help the team this year. If you'd like to help with carpools to tournaments, please complete the Volunteer Driver Form and return to Kyle at KyleHietala@gmail.com. 
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Kicking Off The 2022-2023 Season!

8/17/2022

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Our Summer '22 newsletter, written & produced by our Head of Communications, Anna Van Riesen '24, is published!

​Our new season is underway: pre-season practices began Tuesday, August 16th, and our student leaders are working hard to plan novice recruitment and the first social events of the season. In the next 6 weeks, we have so much to look forward to, which is all explained below! 

What's Happening for New Members?
New Members: How to Join
Any students interested in joining the team should visit this webpage, read the Onboarding Guide, and complete the New Member Form. Once you've done that, we'll add you to our team Slack so you can start participating! 

New Members: Novice Welcome Night on September 13th
On Tuesday, September 13th from 6-7pm in the 800 wing, we'll host Novice Welcome Night, led by our Head of Membership, Sophia Kim '24 with help from our Team Captains.  Welcome Night will include presentations & activities to introduce the different speech & debate events we compete in, followed by our first team-wide family dinner @7pm, when you can meet varsity members and coaches! Regular practices will continue from 7:30-9:00pm. New members should reach out to Kyle Hietala or a Coach to ask about attending pre-season practices, prior to Novice Night. 

What's Happening for Returning Varsity Members?
Returning Varsity Members: Kickoff Party & Club Day Planning on August 30th
Organized by Head of Community, Holden Lee '25 and Head of Membership Sophia Kim '24, our Kickoff Party for Returning Varsity Members will happen instead of practice, Tuesday, August 30th from 6:00-8:30pm in the Media Arts Center (MAC)! 

When's Practice?
Pre-Season Practices (8/16 - 9/6)
Students should check Slack for the latest details about pre-season practices, as some practices are currently online and others are in-person at different times. You can also check our Program Calendar for details. Family dinners are NOT provided during pre-season practices. Our regular season practices will begin September 13th.  
New members should reach out to Kyle Hietala or a Coach to ask about attending pre-season practices, prior to Novice Night. ​

Regular Season Practices (9/13 - onward)
Our regular season practices will begin in-person in the 800 wing on Tuesday, September 13th, with a special event for Novices at the beginning (see above). Students should check Slack for details from their coaches about when to arrive, specific classrooms, and what materials to bring (at minimum, please bring a laptop, charger, paper & pens). Family dinners will be provided!

Which Tournaments are We Attending?
Tournaments are listed on our Calendar.
Please ask your coaches about which tournament you'll be able to attend first, as not all events are offered at every tournament. 

New Merch
We have new t-shirts and more merch on the way! 
If you'd like to buy something, please complete the order form. 

News for Parents, Guardians & Families
Orientation and Welcome Night for All Students & Families on September 29th
Open to everyone (new members & returning members, plus parents & families), we'll host an orientation and welcome night on Thursday, September 29th from 7:00-8:30pm in the Media Arts Center (MAC), with a ZOOM option also provided. Dinner will NOT be served. The evening will conclude with an induction ceremony for new members. 

Supporting The Team: Helping with Donations, Family Dinners, Judging, etc.
There are so many ways for parents & families to support our team, from donating, to providing family dinners, judging at tournaments, and more. We ask all parents/family members to please fill out this form to let us know how you'd be able to help out this year. Contact our Parent Coordinator, Colleen Gormley, with any questions at colgormley@gmail.com.  








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Summer 2022 Newsletter by Anna Van Riesen

8/15/2022

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    Authors

    Anna Van Riesen, Head of Communications, writes & publishes our monthly team newsletter.

    Kyle Hietala, Program Director, writes monthly updates. 

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