SPEECH & DEBATE HONORS – Last weekend, the state competition of the Texas Forensics Association was held at CreekviewHigh school in Plano. 208 schools from all over the state competed for 2 1/2 days. Just to qualify for this meet is an honor, and a number of our CDA students qualified to compete in the event based upon their season performances.
Anna Accomazzo, Andrew Ahles, James Frank, and Michael Sobolik competed in Student Congress. Andrew and Michael won presiding officer positions in their preliminary sessions and were awarded gavels for their performances. Andrew, James, and Michael moved into the semi-finals round. Anna and Andrew competed in Domestic Extemporaneous Speaking. Andrew moved into quarter-finals round, where he placed 4th. Hannah Chupp competed in Original Oratory for the first time at the state meet.
We are all very pleased with the number of students that qualified to attend this event and their performances. It is a continued improvement over last year.
Finally, Andrew Ahles has qualified for the National Competition to be held in WichitaKansas this summer for his success in Domestic Extemporaneous speaking. This is a most prestigious honor and we wish him Godspeed. Also, many thanks to Geri Colvin for her amazing leadership and devotion to this team – God bless you Geri!
MORE TAPPS DISTRICT AWARDS – In addition to the CDA students that qualified for the TAPPS state competition last week in math, art and speech; this week more CDA students qualified in music.
Elizabeth Bowen and our Wind Ensemble students competed Monday night and many were honored. Each performer / ensemble was given a ranking with the highest possible ranking being “Superior.” The following students received a Superior rating:
For instrumental solos: Grace Frank, Sheridan King, Hannah Bowen, Lauren Devoll, Ariel Heinsius, Rebecca Musgrove, Stephen Drew, Preston King, Michael O'Brien, Sarah Alsmiller, Jack O'Brien and Luke McKee
Ensembles receiving a superior rating were our brass quartet comprised of Rebecca Musgrove, Stephen Drew, Tucker Middlebrook and Michael O'Brien and our clarinet trio comprised of Lauren Devoll, Hannah Bowen and Ariel Heinsius.
In addition to the ratings, performers were judged based upon the difficulty of the pieces played. After all factors were weighed, the following students qualified to compete in the State TAPPS competition in April: Lauren Devoll - clarinet solo, Hannah Bowen - clarinet solo, Rebecca Musgrove - trumpet solo and our entire clarinet trio (Lauren Devoll, Hannah Bowen and Ariel Heinsius)
We are most proud of our students in all areas and look forward to the state competitions in late March and early April.