Academics News
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State CX Debate Final Rounds to be Held at State Capitol
By Jana Riggins, Speech and Debate Director | Tuesday, February 07, 2012 8:41 AM
Photo by Jeanne Acton
Football has its Cowboys Stadium. Marching Band fills the Alamodome. Basketballs bounce at the Erwin Center. Track & Field sets records at UT’s Myers Stadium.
Now, the championship rounds of Cross-Examination Debate will have a new venue worthy of its competition. The UIL State Office is pleased to announce that the semifinal and final rounds of all conferences will be held at the Texas State Capitol.
Essay Contest Reminder and A+ Hosting Tips
By David Trussell, Assistant Academic Director | Tuesday, December 06, 2011 9:45 AM
December tends to be one of the quieter periods in the UIL calendar for high school academics, but as you are wrapping up your semester and planning for the spring, don’t forget about our newest activity — the Barbara Jordan Historical Essay Competition.
Scholarship money is awarded to the top three statewide winners, and the top three winners from each of the competition’s 10 regions will have their essays added to the official historical record in the Dolph Briscoe Center for American History.
Academic Department Adds New Resources for Students and Coaches
By Treva Dayton, Academic Director | Monday, December 05, 2011 12:10 PM
Many of you are no doubt looking forward to a well-deserved break from your school responsibilities and the chance to spend time with family and friends or some quiet time to yourself or the chance to do something other than work that you truly enjoy. I hope that despite an often hectic holiday schedule of activities you find some time to rest and relax.
We’ve been working throughout the summer and fall to provide updated resources in all high school academic areas, and we trust that you’ve been using the newer information now posted on our website under each academic contest. In recent months, we’ve added a few additional items.
Legislative Council Approves Theatrical Design Contest Officially
By Ronald L. Watson, Theatrical Design State Contest Director | Monday, December 05, 2011 12:06 PM
A marvelous thing happened in October to advance the state of theatre education in Texas. At its regular meeting on Oct. 17, the UIL Legislative Council voted to make the Theatrical Design Contest an officially sanctioned contest by the League. Officially sanctioned means that the Council recognizes the educational benefits that the Theatrical Design Contest provides students in the state of Texas and encourages all schools to participate. The contest will not be a part of the district academic meet, though.
The Theatrical Design Contest began as a pilot contest in the spring of 2006 and has been held every year since. Growth in participation has been tremendous. There were 36 entries in 2006 for the first contest and more than 300 entries for last year’s contest. Participants include students from schools all over the state and from every conference from A to 5A. State finalists and winners have come from all five conferences as well.
Documentation Details for 2011-12
By Jana Riggins, Speech and Debate Director | Monday, December 05, 2011 11:55 AM
As you prepare for competition, one of the most important things prose and poetry performers must do is to secure appropriate documentation for the performance categories.
Securing documentation is not a task that can be left until the last minute. The categories were designed to document easily, but you should secure proper documentation in advance of invitational and district meets.
Do this before you put your heart and soul into analyzing and rehearsing a literary work for competition. If documentation is insufficient, you won’t even get to compete, so knowing the requirements and making certain you have met the contest rules is an integral part of preparation.
Top Two Debate Areas Announced
By Jana Riggins, Speech and Debate Director | Monday, December 05, 2011 11:53 AM
Infrastructure and Immigration are the possible Cross-Examination Debate topics for the 2012-13 season. Following the national topic selection meeting in August attended by state association directors and leading debate coaches and then a preliminary ballot distributed and counted by states earlier this fall, two topics emerged as national contenders. Infrastructure and Immigration received the most votes from debate coaches across the nation.
A vote to select the final topic is now being conducted. Texas coaches have received a ballot from the State Office or they can access the ballot online. We need all schools to submit their ballot so the Texas vote will be representative of the entire state. The deadline for returning ballots to UIL is Jan. 3.
Opportunities, Deadlines and Changes in OAP
By Luis Muñoz, Theatre Director | Monday, December 05, 2011 11:47 AM
The script and set addition deadline is rapidly approaching. Daily submissions are now arriving with many scripts for evaluation. Please make sure that you follow the procedures in the 19th edition of the Handbook for One-Act Play.
Failure to do so may result in a procedural disapproval and, if close to the deadline, inability to resubmit. Please make sure that your check accompanies your package. That can create incredible delays. It’s best to use the post office box address found on every other page of your handbook.
Samuel French, Inc. Announces New eBook Program
By Press Release from Samuel French | Monday, December 05, 2011 11:45 AM
Samuel French, Inc., the world’s oldest and largest publisher of plays and musicals, announced this week that they will expand their offerings to include eBooks. Titles from playwrights such as Dale Wasserman, Charles Busch, Israel Horovitz, Ray Cooney and Marsha Norman will be available for download beginning in November, along with other Samuel French plays and musicals.
This is a significant development for the theatre industry, which has only a few small entries into the eBook market from other theatrical publishing companies. Samuel French is by far the largest play publishing and licensing house to venture down this road. They will bring a substantial selection of their catalogue t
ILPC Spring Convention Moves to Late April
By Jeanne Acton, UIL Journalism Director | Monday, December 05, 2011 8:08 AM
Due to statewide testing dates, UIL regional competitions and conflicts with the national journalism conference, the ILPC Spring Convention will be held April 28-29 this year at the University of Texas at Austin.
We surveyed members last year to see if an early date or late date in April would work best, and an overwhelming majority selected the later date.
The later date offers a few benefits for schools and ILPC. For example, we moved the newspaper and broadcast deadlines from Feb. 1 to Feb. 15, and with more time, we are hoping to add a competition component to the convention.
Richards Joins Academic Department
By | Wednesday, October 12, 2011 1:27 PM
Trudy Richards is the new administrative associate for the speech department.
Photo by Jeanne Acton
Trudy Richards may be a new addition to the UIL Speech & Debate department, but she already has significant experience with the League.
She competed in a variety of academic events as a student and then coached journalism while teaching at Manor High School. Richards also worked as an intern in the mailroom at UIL during her undergraduate career.
Richards, an alumna of the University of Texas with a bachelor’s degree in English and a master’s in Curriculum and Instruction, joined the UIL staff as the administrative associate on Sept. 1.