The CONTENDER

VOLUME III, ISSUE I SEPTEMBER 2014

MISSION

STATEMENT

Through healthy

competition, HISD UIL

ensures every student

the opportunity for

academic excellence

and personal

enrichment, through

the classroom and

UIL Academics:

Learning

Attitude,

Competitive

Spirit

UIL,

Here to Help

All schools have students

that can benefit from the UIL

experience. Students in all

grades and academic levels

see positive results from their

participation in UIL Academ-

ics. School leaders who make

the commitment to offer UIL

Academics to their students

realize the enormous benefits

that can be received from UIL

academic participation. It is

an excellent opportunity for

students to utilize and

strengthen skills learned in the

classroom. UIL offers con-

tests aligned with the TEKS

that range from Accounting

and Computer Applications,

to Science, and Public Speak-

ing.

Yet, many schools starting

UIL Academics for the first

time may find it challenging

to recruit students who want

to participate. One school

administrator commented,

“Our school doesn’t have any

students who want to partici-

pate in UIL Academics.” To

the contrary, we believe it’s a

matter of finding and recruit-

ing them. Consider the Sam

Houston MSTC Debate Team.

(pictured above right)

In its first year of existence,

debate coach, Ken Ogden,

successfully recruited over 50

Students. Wow! Fifty debat-

ers, and the year before, there

were none!

Principals, Coordinators,

and Coaches finding difficulty

recruiting UIL participants,

the UIL Department can help

turn that around for you! The

UIL department will be happy

to work with your school to

build a UIL Academics culture

from the ground up. We’ll

help put the strategies and

tools in place to find students

who need and want UIL. We

want to help students become

successful in “the classroom

and beyond”; that is the UIL

mission. Call on us—we’re

here to help.

from UIL Manager, Don Hernandez

UIL Manager, Don Hernandez, at Board Recognition

of 2014 UIL One Act Play State Champion

Carnegie Vanguard HS ~ When the Rain Stops Falling

UIL, Here to Help

Mark, Set, Ready, Go!

New Year, Lots of

Changes

Raising the Bar

All schools have

students that

can benefit from

the UIL

experience.

ES & MS ACADEMICS by Cyndy Elliott

Starting a new school

year is always very exciting,

and as quiet as it is kept,

UIL preparation is a major

factor in getting Elementary

and Middle School students

back in gear and in the swing

of things. UIL Elementary

and Middle School Coaches

and Coordinators know this;

so, long before the first day

of school, they begin prepar-

ing for an exciting year of

friendly, but rigorous aca-

demic competition. Once the

new school year is on its

mark, set, and ready, UIL

participants are off and run-

ning.

Before the first bell

sounded on the new school

year, the new Music

Memory, Modern Oratory,

Social Studies, and Debate

topics were announced, and

posted on the HISD UIL

Elementary and Middle

School Academics website.

Art and Music Memory study

materials were mailed to

those Elementary and Middle

Schools that requested them.

UIL study materials are al-

ready being consumed by

eager Academic participants.

September workshops are

currently taking place, and

UIL Academic Coordinators

and Coaches are just as eager

to collaborate, plan, and

strategize for the 2014-2015

school year.

The Elementary and Middle

School Tournament schedule

has been finalized, and the

first two tournaments of the

competitive season are:

October 11, 2014

Elementary School

Academic Tournament #1

Travis Elementary

October 25, 2014

Middle School

Academic Tournament #1

Hamilton Middle School

VOLUME III, ISSUE I SEPTEMBER 2014

On Your Mark,

Get Set,

Ready,

Go!

UIL preparation

is a major factor in getting

Elementary and Middle School

students back in gear

and in the swing of things.

The Houston ISD Debate Initiative by Mark Niles

VOLUME III, ISSUE I SEPTEMBER 2014

HDI, the Houston ISD

Debate Initiative, has been

teaching students to research,

analyze evidence, and fine

tune their speaking skills for

six years, and has grown

from a program of one debate

format and one hundred

students, to a program with

four speech and debate for-

mats and over eight hundred

students. This year, HDI is

excited to announce that

Lincoln Douglas Debate will

be added as a fifth format.

Unlike HDI’s other formats,

Lincoln Douglas gives debat-

ers the opportunity to stand

alone in a one vs. one debate

event. We hope that giving

the students the chance to

debate mano a mano will

boost their confidence.

HDI is also changing the

structure of its tournaments.

In previous years, six, two-

day tournaments were held.

Now, there will be three, one

-day tournaments followed

by three, traditional, two-day

tournaments. Furthermore,

HDI plans to help subsidize

the cost of member schools

to attend up to three meets

on the prestigious Texas

Forensic Association debate

circuit. We believe that by

increasing tournaments and

offering a variety of compet-

itive environments that

welcome new debaters and

challenge the experienced,

HDI will impact even more

students.

The new year kicks off on

Saturday, September 6th ,

with a student seminar at

Texas Southern University,

renown for its historic, award

winning debate program.

HDI has held seminars at

college campuses before, but

this year, all of the seminars

will be held on college

campuses. We believe that

increased exposure to college

campuses and college debate

programs will increase

HISD’s college culture and

provide a recruitment avenue

for HISD students to attend

and debate at the university

level.

New Year,

Lots of Changes

Schools interested in creating

a High School or Middle

School Debate program should

contact our office.

Increased

exposure to

college campuses

and college

debate programs

will increase

HISD’s

college culture

and

provide a

recruitment

avenue for

HISD students.

Fine Arts, by Norma J. Thomas

Raising the Bar

on

UIL Participation

After ten years, Houston

ISD experienced grand success

at the 2014 UIL One-Act Play

State meet as Carnegie Van-

guard HS walked away as State

OAP Champion, with the Best

Actor award coming also from

their cast. While UIL OAP

Theatre directors applauded

Mr. Steward Savage and his

cast (see p.1), it was a general

consensus that it should not be

another 10 years before HISD

brings home the gold. Thus,

Raising the Bar on UIL Partici-pation was the theme of UIL

sessions and presentations at

the 2014-2015 Fine Arts Job

Alike Inservice. The Executive

Secretary of Region 23, UIL

Music, Mr. Fred Fassino, was

the key presenter for Music

Directors; Mr. Luis Munoz,

UIL State Theatre Director, was

the key presenter for Theatre

Directors. Each was received

with appreciation and gratitude.

Feedback from teacher evalua-

tions revealed that time spent at

Job Alike was, for the majority,

the most productive expense of

time in their two-week Teacher

Service period.

Mr. Fassino de-mystified the

UIL Music participation pro-

cess, offering tips, advice, and

best practices to increase the

levels of UIL performance and

participation for all Music Di-

rectors, while Dr. Jacqueline

Chambers addressed that same

conversation expressly for UIL

Vocal Music Directors. The

results came in and the reviews

were fantastic.

Workshops on “Developing

Young Actors” and “Page to

Stage” were offered by Mr. Joe

Angel Babb, not only to ES

UIL Theatre Directors, but non

-UIL Theatre instructors, ES -

HS, were invited to participate

as well, and their reviews were

off the charts. UIL MS and HS

Theatre Directors took to

facebook, sharing excitement

about “What’s On the Horizon

for OAP”, as presented by the

State Theatre Director, and the

“Off the Cuff Chat” with the

elite UIL panel including Mr.

Luis Munoz (State Theatre

Director), Travis Springfield

(HSPVA Lead Counselor, UIL

OAP Adjudicator, and Chair of

the Texas Theatre Adjudicators

& Officials Organization), Ms.

Yvonne Phillips-Dupree (HISD

retiree, UIL OAP Adjudicator

and Clinician), Mr. Jared

Berry (Pin Oak Theatre Direc-

tor, Certified OAP Adjudicator

and Contest Manager), and Mr.

Steward Savage (Carnegie

Vanguard Theatre Director and

2014 5A State UIL OAP

Champion Director). When

asked if they felt they had been

empowered to return to their

schools, meet the challenges,

and raise the bar on UIL OAP

participation, the response of

UIL Theatre Directors, ES -

HS, was a resounding, “Yes!”

Don Hernandez, Manager 713-556-6909

High School Academics

Cyndy Elliott ~ 713-556-7012

Elementary-Middle School Academics

Norma J. Thomas ~ 713-556-6806

Fine Arts (Film, Music, & Theatre)

Stephen Jump ~ 713-556-7005

HUDL Director

Mark Niles ~ 713-556-8830

HUDL Deputy Director

Martha Sandoval ~ 713-556-6802

Secretary

Melissa Garza ~ 713-556-7185

Clerk

Office: 713-556-6813

FAX: 713-556-6814

Houston ISD

UIL Academics

4400 W. 18th St.

Houston, TX 77092

Route #10

h t t p : / / w w w . h o u s t o n i s d . o r g / / D o m a i n / 8 0 4 0

UIL State Theatre Director, Luis Munoz,

speaks to OAP Directors about changes for the season.

VOLUME III, ISSUE I SEPTEMBER 2014

empowered

to return

to their schools,

meet the

challenges, and

raise the bar