OK Conference, March 8

What: OK Conference Tournament
Where: Holland High School
When: Wednesday, March 8
Time: 2:30 -- 9:30 p.m.
Travel: Carpool

The OK Conference Tournament is our breather during the regular season of the Four Big Weekends (Christian, Portage, Holland/Groves, Mattawan). The OK Conference consists of local schools, in Kent, Ottawa, and Ionia counties. The event is relatively low key and certainlynot as big as the weekend events -- but don't let that fool you, it is competitive.

There are a couple of twists to this tournament: each school can only bring two entries for any event. And the format will be two preliminary rounds, plus a cut to a final round.

Here's who we have signed up (if for some reason you cannot make this, tell us Monday).

Extemp: John Barbatano
Informative: Zoe Kilbourne, Colin Tokarek
Sales: Ashley Dykema
Oratory 9/10 Riet Groenleer, Reggie Pell
Oratory Open: Noha Moustafa
Dramatic Interp (DI): Molly Zigler
Poetry: Michelle Steffens, Helen Craig
Prose Open: Frances Bonarski
Prose 9/10: Zoe Ashmead, Monique Quinn
Duo: Wilson/Quinn, Bowman/Vredeveld
Storytelling Andrew Hopewell, Doug Smith
Multiple Deep End of the Ocean, Duck Soup

Christian High on Saturday

Eagle Invitational
Grand Rapids Christian High School (on Plymouth, S. of Burton)
Arrive at 8 a.m.

This is the first of four big weekends -- the heart of the Forensics season. There will be schools from all over the western half of the state there, including such powerhouses as the Portage schools, and Mattawan.

So you will want to be rested. Go to bed early, and plan to arrive at Christian at 8:00 -- remember, we will not be using carpools.

Parents! If you have ever wanted to see what Forensics looks like (or see your student perform -- if they'll let you!), this is the Tournament for you. The first round starts at 8:55. If you plan to attend, let us know, and we'll get you a map.

Here is our final list for the Saturday tournament -- we have registered for 16 events. For some (*) it will be the first meet of the season, and for others ( †) it will be their first time ever!
Poetry: Michelle Steffens
DI: Alisa Stone*†
Prose Open: Sarah Nota*†
Prose 9/10: Zoe Ashmead, Monique Quinn*
Storytelling: Helen Craig, Helen Beelen*†
Duo: Cooper/Quinn*, Vandenberg/Corriveau, Reames/Kleinschmidt*†
Multiple: Deep End of the Ocean*, Duck Soup*
Extemp: Michael Schafer*, John Barbatano
Oratory 9/10: Riet Groenleer, Reggie Pell*

Mark the Calendar for Coffee Talk??

UPDATE: The date has been pulled. Oh, Coffee Talk is coming, just not when scheduled. Look for more information once we get past Spring Break.

Coffee Talk will come early this year: Sunday March 26.

Location: Trinity Lutheran, off Robinson Road, just east of Cascade.

We were really hoping for an April date, but dates at the site were already taken.

For those of you who are new, Coffee Talk is our annual cavalcade of high school and middle school performances. And for both teams, the date is just about perfect. The Monday after Coffee Talk (the 27th) is our Districts, where the winners get to go on to Regionals -- a big date. And then on the following Saturday, April 1, the middle schoolers will be having their state meet. So this will be a good practice time for everyone concerned.

This will also be a time to honor those who have become members of the National Forensics League. Coffee Talk is always a fun time. Hope to see you there!

Christian High Count Down Begins

What: Eagle Invitational
Where: Grand Rapids Christian High
When: Saturday March 4
Leave City: It's your own transportation this time
Arrive: 8 am.

Those are the basic facts. As you can tell this is the easiest to get to, and the easiest when it comes to sleeping in. We already have a number signed up. If you're thinking about performing, this is a perfect time.

Parents! if you would like to see your student perform, or would like to experience what an event like this feels like, the Christian High Event is a good opportunity to stop by and experience it first hand.

So who's going at this point?

DI -- Molly Zigler
Duo -- Cheryl Reames & Xenia Kleinschmidt, Cooper Wilson & Corrinne Quinn
Extemp -- John Barbatano, Michael Schafer
Informative -- Colin Tokarek
Multiples -- Duck Soup (6), Deep End of the Ocean (7)
Oratory 9/10 -- Riet Groenleer
Oratory Open -- Noha Moustafa
Poetry -- Michelle Steffens
Prose 9/10 -- Zoe Ashmead, Monique Quinn
Storytelling -- Helen Craig

OK Festival Highlights

It was a nervous time for all concerned. For Riette, it was her first time ever performing, let alone simply trying out a new piece like Frances or Ashley. On the other hand, things were different in Duos -- there were seven (7!! Count them!!) As you might expect with that many, some were already pretty good. One was actually Wicked good:

Congratulations Emily and Claire!

The Mackie kicks off the Season

What: MCCIE
Where: Mason County Central HS, Scottsville MI
When: Saturday, February 24
Leave: 6:30 (home 9:00)

Saturday is the start of the competitive season for City High Forensics as we head north to Scottsville MI and Mason County Central. It's the MCCIE, aka the Mackie.

Where is Scottsville? that's about 15 minutes east of where you get off on US 31 at Ludington. It's an hour and a half drive.

Like City, Mason County is a smaller school with an large, active Forensics; this will not be glitzy, but the competition will be real. Of interest, we will see schools from farther north like Charlevoix and Lake City -- schools we usually don't see until we get to Regionals.

Afterwards, we will likely head towards Ludington to pick up some food before going home.

So who's going?

Max Gilles & Yefei Jin (Duo)
John Barbatano (Extemp)
Riet Groenleer (Oratory 9/10)
Michelle Steffens (Poetry)
Frances Bonarski (Prose)
Zoe Ashmead (Prose)
Helen Craig (Storytelling)

OK Festival Wednesday

What: OK Festival
Where: Grandville HS
When: Wednesday, February 22
Leave: 2:30 pm

OK Festival takes place Wednesday, Feb 22. A few of you are going. If you would like to compete, please contact me (Mr H). Or you can leave a comment here. We will be going by car pool, since at this writing (Friday) it looks as if we will only have 3 or 4 going.

Why should you consider the OK? This is a two-rounder with no ranking. You simply compete to gain the experience of performing. It's a great way to take something out of the box, and try it before a judge (and audience). Best of all, no pressure (trust me, that comes later).

So who's going? [updated list]

• Frances Bonarski -- Prose
• Monique Quinn -- Prose 9/10
• Helen Craig -- Storytelling
• Riette Groenleer -- Oratory 9/10
• Ashley Dykema -- Sales
• Corriveau / Vandenbergb -- Duo
  

Kicking this off

This is the start of our virtual newsletter. Rather than publish a lot in print (and waste trees, stamps and time), I'll be using this blog to keep you up to date about what we are doing at City High, what's next with Invitationals, and other news of Forensics.

Speaking of news, we had a very nice potluck to kick off the season. It was so good to see so many new students at the event. One of the reasons I keep coming back to coach is the opportunity to meet so many students (and their parents). Thanks again.

And in case you weren't there, we did announce one interesting piece of news: we have the largest team ever, 54 students, including six -- count them! Six! duos. Wow. More on that later.