Dear Parents/Guardians of 6th, 7th, and 8th Grade Students, This year, the Foothill Country Day School

Speech and Debate Program will be organizing a trip to the Stanford University Invitational Debate Tournament. While there, students will observe some of the nations best speech and debate competitors engage in competition, tour the beautiful campus of Stanford University, and gain valuable insights into speech and argumentation methods applicable to virtually every area of life. This trip will allow students to learn valuable lessons about how to communicate effectively in a variety of settings and contexts ranging from formal competitions to high school entrance interviews and will help them to cultivate skills that will last a lifetime. For the first time, this priceless educational opportunity will be available to all interested students in the 6th, 7th, and 8th grades. Interested parties should contact Alisa Currier (aallen@foothillcds.org) or Daniel Hadley-Ambord (daniel.ambord@gmail.com) as soon as possible in order to reserve a space on the trip. Please consult the attached information sheets for more information on this one of a kind event.

Sincerely, Alisa Currier Arts Coordinator and Daniel W. Hadley-Ambord Speech and Debate Instructor Foothill Country Day School

Stanford Debate Tournament Preliminary Information Sheet

Summary: Our class will be attending and observing the Stanford Invitational Debate Tournament, one of the most prestigious high school level debate competitions in the country. While there, students will observe formal competition, interact with high school level competitors, and generally get a sense of how it feels to attend a major debate competition. In addition, students who attend the trip will receive instruction in various speech and argumentation methods with a view toward the application of those methods in their lives and studies. In particular, all students who attend will have a chance to participate in a mock high school entrance interview and receive instruction in effective interviewing strategies. The tournament will take place between Friday, February 11th and Monday, February 14th on the campus of Stanford University and at the Santa Clara Marriott. The trip will be supervised by Mr. Hadley-Ambord and other adult chaperones. Travel: Travel to and from the Stanford area will be by air. Air travel costs will vary somewhat depending on whether we need to fly in to San Jose or Oakland (which, in turn, will depend on how many students will be attending the tournament and how much room we can find on appropriate flights). Once in the Stanford area, we will be renting a van. Accommodations: We will be staying at the official tournament hotel, the Santa Clara Marriott. This will allow us to limit our travel time between the hotel and Stanfords campus. Furthermore, certain tournament events are held at the hotel itself. In order to reduce costs and facilitate supervision, students will share rooms on a gender segregated basis. Please see the attached sheet for a summary of costs. Travel and Accommodation Costs: Precise travel and accommodation costs will vary depending on the number of students who decide to attend the trip. Please refer to the attached cost estimate sheet for price estimates on groups of 5 and 9 students. Please be advised that, should more students decide to attend, costs will be somewhat lower than those listed on the estimate sheet. Additional Costs: In addition to costs associated with travel and accommodations, students will be expected to bring enough money to pay for their meals and other expenses (e.g. souvenirs) for the durations of the trip. We will be staying in the Stanford area from February 11th through the 14th and anticipate eating around 12 meals over the course of the trip. Every effort will be made to find reasonably priced eateries in the vicinity of the tournament. Clothing, Supplies and Medications: Students should bring all of the supplies necessary for a trip of this length in terms of clothing, medications, and school supplies. Students are advised to consult weather forecasts for the Stanford area prior to selecting clothing.

Cost Estimates 9 Students San Jose Air: $175 Van: $60 Hotel: $145 Total: $360 Oakland Air $215 Van: $60 Hotel: $145 Total $420

5 Students

San Jose

Air: $175 Van: $150 Hotel: $250 Total: $575

Oakland

Air: $215 Van: $150 Hotel: $250 Total: $615

Speech and Debate Events There are a number of speech and debate events competed in at the Junior High School, High School, and College levels. The following, while far from an exhaustive list, includes some of the more popular events that students are likely to encounter at the Stanford Invitational Tournament. Individual Events (IEs): Student Congress: A mock legislative assembly modeled on the United States House of Representatives in which a group of students debate and vote on fictional pieces of legislation. The proceedings are overseen by a Presiding Officer (PO) and are governed by the rules of Parliamentary Procedure. Students are evaluated based on rhetorical effectiveness, clarity of thought, quality of research/issue awareness, and observance of parliamentary procedures and general decorum. Speech: These events are centered on effective public speaking. There are a large number of speech events at the High School and College levels. They can be broadly grouped into the following categories: Interpretive (Interp) Speech: In these speeches, the speaker is called upon to interpret another work, be it a historical speech, scene from a play or movie, or passage from a book. There are a number of varieties of interp including Dramatic, Thematic, Duo (which includes a partner), Humorous and Oratorical Interp. Oratory: These speeches seek to persuade the audience to adopt a particular position. Included in this category are Original Oratory (general persuasive speeches) and Original Advocacy (persuasive speeches pertaining to policy issues). Impromptu/Extemporaneous Speech: These events involve giving speeches with very limited preparation time. The two main varieties are impromptu (a short speech given with limited preparation time and no access to outside sources) and extemporaneous (speeches on a current event with limited preparation time and access to sources brought to the tournament by the student). Expository Speech: An informative speech category, expository speakers create informational speeches on a topic of their choice accompanied by visual aids (posters) that they create prior to competition. This sort of speech is excellent preparations for business related presentations and tends to appeal to speakers with an interest in arts and crafts. Original Prose and Poetry: This event entails the presentation of an original (that is, competitor created) work of prose or poetry.

Debate Events: There are several types of debate commonly practiced at the high school and college levels. The following are some of the more popular varieties. Parliamentary Debate: A form of team debate loosely modeled on debates in the British House of Commons, Parliamentary debate is arguably the most popular and established of the various debate formats worldwide, with large-scale international competitions occurring annually at the college levels. Lincoln-Douglas Debate (AKA Ethics OR Value debate): A one-on-one debate on an ethical topic, Lincoln-Douglas calls upon participants to debate an issue in the context of values and the criterion by which said values should be measured. This form of debate tends to involve extensive treatments of politics, philosophy, and law. Policy Debate (CX Debate): A form of team debate dealing with national or international policy issues, policy is one of the most specialized forms of debate, calling upon its participants to develop the ability to rapidly express and process vast amounts of information on a given topic. Policy is very popular at the high school and college levels nationwide and is seen as an excellent preparation for the study of law, politics, history, and current events. Public Forum (AKA Ted Turner Debate): A form of team debate regarding policy topics, Public Forum participants engage in an intense Crossfire Style debate intended to be accessible to an audience with limited exposure to formal debate. A newer event, Public Forum was envisioned as an answer to the extreme specialization of Policy Debate and, consequently, places great value on rhetorical skill and the ability to debate complex issues in a manner comprehensible to the lay person.

Why Participate in Speech and Debate? Speech and Debate helps students to develop valuable skills in presentation, listening, critical thinking, research, and writing. These skills faciliate other areas of a students education and provide important preparation for life beyond school. Speech and Debate helps participants to overcome the all too commmon anxiety associated with public speaking. Speech and Debate engenders an awareness of history, politics, geography, current events, and a wide range of other subjects in its participants. Speech and Debate events are among the most well-regarded of extracirricular activities by colleges and universities and provides skills that are essential in the workplace. Speech and Debate is an enjoyable activity that allows students to socialize with students from other schools, states, and countries in an atmosphere of friendly competition. Speech and Debate encourages an understanding of and appreciation for diverse perspectives on a variety of issues. Speech and Debate builds self-confidence and promotes and abilitity and willingness to engage with ones community in an active, positive way. Speech and Debate programs are popular at the high school and college levels. Participating in a middle school level program may well introduce a student to an activity that they will enjoy throughout their education and give them a major competitive advantage should they decide to do so.