Practice with Ms. Berg

I am going on vacation this week, so we will only be meeting Tuesday. I will see the Interpers from 3:00-4:00 and from 4:00-5:00 I will see PA'ers. If one time works better for you then others, (Shawn I know you mentioned later might be better), then come at that time.

North INFO-Mar. 3

Can you believe it's almost March!?!?!

Our first tournament in March is across town, so THERE WILL BE NO BUS! You must find me in the North cafeteria at 7:30 on Saturday. I think they will be passing out critiques and posting the schedule, so you don't necessarily NEED me, but I need you. I need to take attendance, of sorts. Please do not be late.

I mentioned on the roster (see below), but will mention again, this tournament is unlike any other we've gone to this year, because they are breaking into semi-finals. This means more rounds to watch (or participate in) and basically, a longer tournament. Awards are scheduled for 5. But North has a history of a super fun tournament with raffled off prizes (cool things like gift certificates and stuff).

See you Saturday!!!

NFL Roster

For NFL's, I have decided to select a team based on seniority. Only students in their second year (or more) of speech will be going to NFL's this year. In addition, NFL's ONLY has Extemp Speaking, Oratory, Humorous, Dramatic Interp (which includes poetry, prose, and drama), and duo. So, you can only attend if you are in one of these categories. (You also would have needed to indicate your availability on your contracts...) With that said, the following people will be heading to Eagan High School on FRIDAY MARCH 9th. You will be out of school the ENTIRE day, so if you have a test or something that you can't miss, let me know ASAP, so I can take you off the roster. Also, if you feel you should be on the list based on the above criteria, but I left you off because I make mistakes, then please let me know. THE EAGAN INVITATIONAL ON SATURDAY IS A COMPLETELY DIFFERENT TOURNAMENT THAT JUST HAPPENS TO BE IN THE SAME LOCATION. FURTHER INFORMATION/ROSTER ON THAT WILL FOLLOW.

NFL Roster
March 9-10, 2007

Extemp Speaking
Abbie Gudmundson
Mike Berger
Julie Schmidt
Christian Keil

Oratory
Dan Bungert
Lizzie Schwegman

Humorous
Roslyn Udairam
Jake Verduzco
Yevette Willaert

Dramatic Interpretation (prose, poetry, or drama)
Claire Wardrop
Kayla Anderson
Elishia Beckman
Kelly Cole
Alex Kalina

Discussion Practice THURSDAY

Hey, Discussants! I have a doctor's appointment tomorrow at 2:30, so we will practice on Thursday at 3 instead.

THANKS!

Extemp and OO -- week of 26 Feb

Plan for this week:

Monday
5:30PM Extemp practice speeches on topic #1, check your Sunday email for details on the speech.

Tuesday
5:30 Lizzie *
6:00 Dan *
6:30 Abbie G and Mike practice speeches -- I will send you question for Tues

* Lizzie and Dan -- If you have conflicts, let me know and we can find some other times.

Wednesday -- off

Thursday
5:30 Simon
6:00 Abbie B (try to schedule a time with Ms. Waterston too)
6:30 Abbie G and Mike practice speeches -- I will send you question for Thurs

Friday
5:30 Extemp practice speeches on topic #2 from your Sunday email

TOURNAMENT CANCELLED

MSU has had to cancel their tournament due to over half the schools calling to say they weren't coming (chickens). So, enjoy sleeping in. I am also calling all of you, but some of you I am only able to leave messages for, so I hope you all get the info.

North Roster - Mar. 3

Here is the roster for next week's tournament. As usual, let me know if you should be added or dropped before Tuesday and you won't owe a fee. North is doing semifinals this year, so this will be an especially long tournament. On the other hand, they give out cool prizes at awards (not just trophies, prizes for anyone...a raffle of sorts).

1. Anderson, Kayla (double)
2. Barrett, Abbie
3. Berger, Michael
4. Bradley, Michelle
5. Bungert, Dan
6. Cole, Kelly
7. Doyle, Michael
8. Dumonceaux, Danielle
9. Gudmundson, Abbie
10. Harris, Ali
11. Hilsen, John
12. Hunecke, Erin
13. Julik, Joe
14. Kalina, Alex
15. Keil, Christian
16. Kunkel, Adam
17. McNeil, Chris
18. Nelson, Matt
19. Nelson, Shawn
20. Panzer, Zach
21. Rajavuori, Starla
22. Rosenthal, Sarah
23. Sabroski, Hope
24. Schmidt, Julie
25. Schwartz, Mikaela
26. Schwegman, Elizabeth (double)
27. Schwegman, Emily
28. Sweere, Melissa
29. Udairam, Roslyn
30. Wardrop, Claire (double)
31. Willaert, Yevette

MSU Info

We will LEAVE for MSU at 6:30 (be here by 6:20). The drive is a little more than an hour, with registration beginning at 7:45 and draws at 8:30. This tournament will be different than any other because it is being held on a college campus. You will have to lug your jackets, bags, etc. around with you (there is usually a room to put them, but it is wide open to the entire campus, so I advise against it). Rooms will be harder to find because they will be in different buildings. You will need to rely heavily on your map. If all else fails, find me. The reason we're going to this tournament (other than we took 2nd place last year :-)) is because this is my alma mater. I can help you find your rooms :-) Andy and I will both be there judging, however, so we may not always be available.

Their tournament is the same as ours (we stole it from them) where you compete with everyone, but then novii can break into either final. Food will be available (good food, not parent concessions; they usually open the food court...but maybe bring food just in case).

IN THE EVENT OF BAD WEATHER: Storms are predicted for this weekend. I will only cancel our participation in the tournament if the tournament director actually cancels the tournament. If this happens, you will be called by your captain to let you know. This WILL NOT be decided until Saturday morning, so don't 30 people call me Friday night to ask.

Waterston Practice update

Friday's Open Practice is no longer "open". People have signed up for all of my available times.

Waterston Practice

Okay. So, as we didn't have school Monday, then I had to cancel Tuesday due to illness, and I am unavailable for practice Wednesday (as I am every week), I now have to squeeze all of you in on Thursday and Friday. So, here's a breakdown of how this should work:
THURSDAY
2:30 Disco kids just for research. I will open the lab for you.
2:35 Jake
3:00 Adam
3:30 John
4:00 Claire (if you still want to work with me)

FRIDAY
2:30 Storytellers as usual
4:00 Open practice for anyone needing extra help. I will only stay until 4:15 unless people either sign up or show up.

Extemp and OO -- week of 20 Feb

A short but busy week. We're hosting the extemp/impromptu Round Robin
on Friday night and then off to the booming metropolis of Mankato the
next morning. Yay for us!

Practice this week:

Tuesday
Mike, Abbie, Christian, and Julie @ 5:30

Lizzie -- come when/if you can and we'll work on your new OO. I can
work around the extemp to fit you in.

Wednesday
Extemp @ 5:30
Dan -- Come when/if you can and we'll work on your new OO. I can work
around the extemp to fit you in. Would like to work with you 2 times
this week just to work on your delivery and memorization. I might be
able to get a round off on Friday and can listen to you during
tournament too.

Thursday
Extemp @ 5:30
Simon @ 5:30
Abbie B @ 6:00 *

Abbie B -- You need work on your delivery and presentation, I think
your speech is pretty good. See if Ms. Waterston has 30 minutes open
some day this week too. So ideally you'd practice 1 day with me and
another with her, assuming she has time available.

Friday
Extemp and Impromptu Round Robin @ South

Saturday
MSU Tournament @ Mankato

Tuesdays and Thursdays with Ms. Berg

Tuesday
2:30 Dan
3:00 Lizzie
3:30 Chris
4:00 Claire
4:30 Shawn
5:00 Mick

Thursday
2:30 Matt
3:00 Elishia
3:30 Sarah
4:00 Erin
4:30 Hope

Forest Lake Info

We will be leaving at 6:20 A.M. Saturday, as Forest Lake is north of the cities and draws are at 8 (instead of the usual 8:30), with rounds beginning at 8:30. Plus, this is historically a very large tournament, and we want to have a place to sit down. SO DON'T BE LATE or we may leave you behind.

Forest Lake does NOT have novice division, so you're all in this one together. They do have honor finals, however, so more people can win awards.

Also, if you ARE sick and can't make it, please call me either before 10 P.M. on Friday or after 5:30 A.M. on Saturday. Don't call at 12:30. Don't call at 4:30. Waterston needs her sleep :-)

See you Saturday, Speechers!!!

MSU roster-February 24th

I am posting the roster for the MSU tournament early because they are charging an extra $5 as a drop fee (regardless of reason). So, if anyone drops after Tuesday the 20th (even for illness) it will cost us an extra $5. This will make your fee go up to $20 for dropping/not showing up. SO, IF YOU KNOW YOU CAN'T MAKE IT ON THE 24TH FOR ANY REASON, PLEASE LET ME KNOW!!! Also, we currently have 39 team members coming to this tournament, our largest entry yet. There are only 4 team members not coming to this tournament (unless they change their minds by Tuesday...hint, hint...). It would be nice to get a group picture of us all dressed up pretty. (We'll PhotoShop in the missing ones :-)).


1. Anderson, Kayla
2. Barrett, Abbie
3. Beckman, Elishia
4. Berger, Michael
5. Bradley, Michelle
6. Bungert, Dan
7. Cole, Kelly
8. Doyle, Michael
9. Dumonceaux, Danielle
10. Fideler, Kori
11. Geier, Lauren
12. Gudmundson, Abbie
13. Hilsen, John
14. Hunecke, Erin
15. JoVanna Jensen
16. Julik, Joe
17. Jurewicz, Alya
18. Kalina, Alex
19. Keil, Christian
20. Kunkel, Adam
21. Longley, Ryan
22. McNeil, Chris
23. Nelson, Matt
24. Nelson, Shawn
25. Nylund, Kati
26. Panzer, Zach
27. Rajavuori, Starla
28. Rosenthal, Sarah
29. Schmidt, Julie
30. Schwartz, Mikaela
31. Schwegman, Elizabeth
32. Schwegman, Emily
33. Shim, Joe
34. Skluzacek, Simon
35. Sweere, Melissa
36. Udairam, Roslyn
37. Verduzcon, Jake
38. Wardrop, Claire
39. Willaert, Yevette

Ms. Berg Coaching for next week.

Tuesday
2:30 Matt
3:00 Dan
3:30 Elishia
4:00 Lizzie

Thursday
2:30 Sarah
3:00 Claire
3:30 Erin
4:00 Hope
4:30 Shawn
5:00 Mick
5:30 Chris

If you show up to practice with a script this week I will send you home. There are two exceptions, and you know who you are.

Claire, stop by Ms. Waterston's room on Tuesday after school for your prose piece. I will expect it to be typed and mounted by Thursday.

Extemp and OO -- week of 11 Feb

A short week of practice due to annual family trip to Disney...Last year, one of my Disney highlights was getting a call with results from Abbie while I was being loaded into the Tower of Terror. :)

OO people -- I want to hear your speeches, so be mentally prepared to give them. You can switch times around with each other if you like. If you want to speak later in the day, just let me know and we can work around extemp time.

Monday
5:00 Simon
5:30 Lizzie
6:00 Abbie G. and Mike practice speeches (extempers are welcome to come early to print/file)
6:30 Julie and Christian meet to talk through speeches from AV

Tuesday
5:00 Dan
5:30 Abbie B
6:00 Julie, Christian, and Melissa give speeches
6:30 Abbie and Mike speeches

Wed, Thurs, and Friday I'm out of town.

Extemp Round Robin on 2/23

On Friday, February 23rd we're hosting a Round Robin for Extemp Speaking and Impromptu. Here is the schedule:

3:00 Round 1 will be Impromptu

3:30 Round 2 will be Extemp Speaking
Instructions for Round 2 – Write your own question and have your speech prepped before you arrive. You are required to use an article from the February 7, 2007 edition of the Washington Post as the foundation for your question and must cite that edition of the Washington Post twice in your speech.

4:30 Round 3 Draw for Extemp Speaking
We will use topics inspired by the following:
International: Any Thomas L. Friedman column published in the NYT in January 2007 (there are 9 in this date range for Friedman)
Domestic: Any Paul Krugman op-ed published in the NYT in January 2007 (there are 9 in this date range for Krugman op-eds)

Round 3 instructions – You will draw a question for the person who speaks after you; last speaker draws for the first speaker.

5:00 Round 3 will be Extemp Speaking

6:00 Dinner break
Presentation by guest speakers.

6:30 Round 4 will be Impromptu

7:00 Round 5 Draw for Extemp
International: Jan/Feb 2007 Foreign Affairs
Domestic: Jan 29 2007 Time

Round 5 instructions – Round 5 features CX of the speaker who follows you.

7:30 Round 5 will be Extemp Speaking

8:30 “Awards”

Apple Valley Results

We had a fun day today at Apple Valley High School and Falcon Ridge Middle School. The results were as follows:

Lauren Geier- 7th Place Novice Storytelling
Simon Skluzacek- 2nd Place Novice Oratory
Sarah Rosenthal- 1st Place Honors Great Speeches
and winning a coveted red marble apple--
Mick Doyle-3rd Place Varsity Great Speeches

With only 30 competitors, we took 11th out of 36 schools. That's AWESOME!

Great job today, everyone!

South Results

SORRY! I've really been slacking this week on the website posts. Here are the FABULOUS results from our very own tournament last weekend:

Adam Kunkel- Champion, Novice Creative
Emily Schwegman- 4th place, Novice Humorous
Abbie Barrett- 3rd place, Novice O.O.
Hope Sabroski- 5th place, Novice Poetry
Lauren Geier- 3rd place, Novice Storytelling
Mike Berger- 6th place, Extemp. Speaking
Abbie Gudmundson- 7th place, Extemp. Speaking & 2nd place, Impromptu
Lizzie Schwegman- Champion, Impromptu
Christian Keil- 6th place, Impromptu

Great job, everyone!!!

Forest Lake Roster

Here is the current roster for Sat. Feb. 17 at Forest Lake. They are allowing double entries in all categories except discussion. If you are not on this list, but want to come, let me know. If you are ON this list, but can't go, you have until Monday to let me know. All registration closes on Tuesday, so if you want to double-enter, but I don't have you listed as doing so, LET ME KNOW!!!

FOREST LAKE
FEBRUARY 17, 2007

1. Kayla Anderson (double)
2. Abbie Barrett
3. Elishia Beckman
4. Michael Berger
5. Michelle Bradley
6. Kelly Cole
7. Mick Doyle
8. Danielle Dumonceaux
9. Kori Fideler
10. Lauren Geier
11. Abbie Gudmundson
12. Ali Harris
13. John Hilsen
14. Erin Hunecke
15. Joe Julik
16. Alex Kalina
17. Adam Kunkel
18. Ryan Longley
19. Shawn Nelson
20. Kati Nylund
21. Starla Rajavuori
22. Sarah Rosenthal
23. Hope Sabroski
24. Julie Schmidt
25. Mikaela Schwartz
26. Lizzie Schwegman (double)
27. Emily Schwegman
28. Joe Shim
29. Simon Skluzacek
30. Melissa Sweere
31. Roslyn Udairam
32. Jake Verduzco
33. Claire Wardrop
34. Yevette Willaert

(I don't know why this is suddenly underlining everything :-))

Apple Valley Info

SORRY! I forgot to post this earlier in the week. We will leave at 7:10 from the upper lot. We will go to the high school in AV and drop off the varsity and extemp speakers. Then we will go to the middle school where novice and discussion will compete. We will not see each other again until awards at 4:30.

We should be home around 5:45. See you in the morning!

Practice, etc.

A lot of complaints have come in about lack of practice time. I know this is in part due to scheduling conflicts with your individual coaches. However, it is important that you communicate, check the website, and know that you must accomodate and be flexible at times as well.

Since auditions in November, we have gone from having 65 members on this team to 45. This is due to a variety of reasons, I'm sure, but it really saddens me as your head coach. Please know that I don't want to lose any more of you. And those of you who are devoted and spirited make me smile just thinking about you.

Today and Thursday I will be holding open practices for ANY person in ANY category who would like some help. Tuesday will be from 3:30-5:00, and Thursday will be from 3:00-5:00. (If no one is here by 4:30, I won't hang around, so don't come at 4:55 and be mad that I'm gone :-))

This team is important to me, and I know it's important to many of you as well. We have just come off of a VERY successful tournament that couldn't have happened without all of your help and support. Be assured, every team that left here on Saturday was impressed with the Lakeville South Speech Team---that's you.

Please feel free to stop by ANY time to talk with me about your concerns, no matter what they're about. I want being a part of South Speech to be nothing but a positive experience for every last one of you, and I will go out of my way to ensure that is true.

Go Cougars!

Coaching with Ms. Berg

We are going to everthing on Thursday this week. Here are some quick personal notes.

Matt-I can't wait to see the new script later tonight.
Lizzie-I am going to cut the script tomorrow, so we will be good to go for this weekend.
Elishia-I am looking and we will have something cool and meaningful. I hope by tomorrow.
Claire-I am still searching for one more.
Hope-Congradulations on your first break! I am proud of your work.

We are going to do group coaching again. The PA'ers get to go first this week, because they always get the times which are late in the day. If you have a MAJOR conflict and cannot make the practice time I assigned, let me know and we can arrange to have you show up earlier. Also a MAJOR conflict is related to things which are well beyond your control. Not wanting to come back to school after 4:30 is not a major conflict.

2:30-3:30 Sarah, Mick, and Matt
3:30-4:30 All Drama Folks
4:30-5:30 All Poets

Extemp and OO -- week of 5 Feb

I've emailed all of the practice details.

Great job at our own tournament this weekend. Your help really made things turn out well.

Apple Valley Roster

Although our tournament is our focus, I did remember to register for the next tournament :-) We will be going to Apple Valley on February 10th. (Originally, we were going to go to St. Cloud, but they cancelled their tournament.)

Apple Valley runs two completely separate tournaments: novice and varsity. This tournament is so huge, however, that they are even in separate buildings (except extemp speaking since they share files). Please let me know ASAP if you can't come on the 10th. At Eden Prairie last week we had 8 people drop. Not only is that expensive for us, but it is also embarrassing for me when we register. Please plan ahead and only drop if you REALLY need to. Right now only 2 people are double-entering. If you want to pick up a second event, please come see me.

1. Kayla Anderson
2. Abbie Barrett
3. Elishia Beckman
4. Michelle Bradley
5. Dan Bungert (double)
6. Kelly Cole
7. Mick Doyle
8. Danielle Dumonceaux
9. Kori Fideler
10. Lauren Geier
11. Ali Harris
12. John Hilsen
13. Joe Julik
14. Alex Kalina
15. Christian Keil
16. Adam Kunkel
17. Ryan Longley
18. Chris McNeil
19. Matt Nelson
20. Shawn Nelson
21. Zach Panzer
22. Starla Rajavuori
23. Sarah Rosenthal
24. Hope Sabroski
25. Julie Schmidt
26. Mikaela Schwartz
27. Lizzie Schwegman (double)
28. Emily Schwegman
29. Joe Shim
30. Simon Skluzacek
31. Roslyn Udairam
32. Jake Verduzco
33. Yevette Willaert

Tournament details will be published here by Thursday of next week.