JBS Debaters Hang Record # TFA Points on Christmas Tree

The JBS Law Magnet Debate team closed out the first half of the debate season with eleven debaters having one or more TFA State qualifying points. This is the most number of students possessing points at this stage in the year.  

Five members of the LD squad accumulated points. Law Magnet has never had more than three LD'rs with TFA points at all.

Congrats to all for fruits of all the hard effort. Get some well deserved rest during the break. Come back refreshed and refortified to make the push to get TFA qualified. 

The team is still on pace to reach its goal of two CX teams and two LD'rs getting qualified for state.

BREAKING NEWS: All 3 VLD get 1 TFA Point

According to the entry totals reported on the TFA website, Creekview was a larger tournament than we anticipated.  All Octo-Finalists will earn a TFA point. 

CONGRATS to Glyneisha Johnson, David Webb and Katia Ramirez

Rolando Velasquez: Making the case for debate | Dallas-Fort Worth Local Opinion Columns | News for Dallas, Texas | Dallas Morning News

Rolando Velasquez: Making the case for debate | Dallas-Fort Worth Local Opinion Columns | News for Dallas, Texas | Dallas Morning News

VLD'rs Crest at Creekview

The JBS Law Magnet debate team had three VLD debaters break to Octo-Finals at Creekview. Glyneisha Johnson, Katia Ramirez and David Webb all finished the preliminary rounds undefeated.  This marks the first time this year with three VLD debaters in out rounds.  Additionally, it marks Katia's first break as a varsity debater.  This is significant since she is only a freshman.

Joe Behm earned the 4th Place Best Speaker in VCX, while Ivan Garcia and Rolando Velasquez finished as the 10th Seed, but failed to break on speaker points.

This ends the debate season for the Fall Semester and for 2010.  The team will next debate at Coppell High School on January 7-8, 2011.  

Creekview Information

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Debaters need to provide their own transportation TO AND FROM the tournament.  It is a SATURDAY ONLY tournament.

Garcia & Velasquez Win 2nd Place in VCX

Ivan Garcia and Rolando Velasquez beat Berkner and Grapevine on their way to claiming 2nd Place in Varsity CX at South Garland  High School. GV earned 6 TFA qualifying points for their performance.

Kelsey Annu-Essuman led the VLD squad with another Top 10 performance. She finished in 5th Placed and stocked up on two more TFA points, taking her to 15 total. Katia Ramirez (Freshman) debated in her first varsity tournament and held her own by winning rounds.

Alex Delgado became the latest NLD to break.  He finished in 9th place. Zaida Rosas came close to breaking, only missing by one speaker point.

Next week is an all varsity tournament at Creekview High School.

Mean Green Debate Camp

The majority of you will be attending the Mean Green Debate Workshops this summer. The dates and prices have already been released.

Go to this link to learn more about the camp:

MEAN GREEN

It's Official: Kelsey TFA Qualified!

The TFA website has recently been updated and it is now official - Kelsey Annu-Essuman is qualified.

TFA LD Qualifers

South Garland Information

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Kelsey Gets TFA Qualified While Entire JBS Law LD Squad Shines

Kelsey Annu-Essuman qualified to TFA State this weekend, by finishing in 3rd Place in Varsity LD Debate at the Williams High School tournaments.  Kelsey was also the 4th Best Speaker in VLD.  

Quetzabel Benavides also broke to the out rounds in VLD.  She finished in 5th Place and earned two more TFA points bringing her total to three.

Katia Ramirez continues to shine in Novice LD.  She finished in 3rd Place and won 2nd Place Best Speaker.  That is her second speaker award in two weeks.

Selena Yanez broke in NLD for the first time and finished in 9th Place.

The remainder of the LD squad had a productive weekend as Glyneisha Johnson, Yastril Nanez and Amahirany Villa were in 2-1 break rounds.

The LD Squad continues to show great progress.  The team may still have at least two more debaters qualify for TFA state. Additionally,  some of the NLD debaters have demonstrated that they will be ready to debate varsity in the Spring.  

Finally, the team would like to thank Ms. Guerrero for spotting Mr. G while he drove to the airport to pick up his wife.

The next tournament will be hosted by South Garland.

Hockaday LD Updates

Hockaday finally updated their results.  We had Best Speakers in VLD and NLD.  Kelsey Annu-Essuman won 4th Place Best Speaker in VLD and Katia Ramirez won 16th Place Best Speaker in NLD.

Plano Williams Info

We will be leaving Townview at  3:00PM Friday. I will be sending an email to teachers letting them know you will NOT be attending 8th period.

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The Boys Rule at Hockaday

The Hockaday Tournament is one of the oldest TFA tournaments in the Dallas area.  It is also the most competitive non-TOC tournament on the Fall schedule.  This tournament is a good gauge (for better or worse) how well the JBS team stands up against the best teams in the area and Texas.

Ruben Garcia and Daniel Lozano demonstrated that they have the potential to be an NCX team to reckon with on the TFA circuit.  They garnered a 3-1 record to earn the 6th seed.  They beat a St. Mark's team to break and beat a Greenhill team to advance to the Quarter-Finals.  They finished in 5th Place. The JBS Law Magnet has not had an NCX team do this well at Hockaday since Eddie Camacho and Charlie Stevens were freshmen.

Haley Estrada and Tyffany Robles also broke in NCX as the 15th seed and dropped in Octos. Haley also won 16th Best Speaker.

Results for LD are unofficial as Hockaday has not posted them on the JOT site. Kelsey Annu-Essuman broke Octos and earned an additional two points towards qualification.  If the results hold up, she will be one point shy of qualifying.

Thanks go to Ivan Garcia for the photo of Ruben and Daniel with their Silver Platter awards.

The Hockaday School Info

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Kat Attacks Mean Green

Katia Ramirez kept the JBS Law Magnet TFA break streak alive by breaking in NLD. She advanced to the quarter-finals and finished 5th Place.  She is the first NLD debater to break and win a trophy.  See her photo below.

Quetzabel Benavides and Kelsey Annu-Essuman earned 8th and 9th Place Best Speaker awards in Varsity LD.

Several of the "Barefoot Debaters" earned 3-2 records, narrowly missing the elimination rounds on speaker points. These included Haley Estrada and Tyffany Robles in NCX, Ivan Garcia and Rolando Velasquez in VCX, and Quetzabel and Kelsey in VLD.

The LD'rs also made significant strides by winning several rounds against Hockaday debaters.  Next week The Hockaday Classic!

UNT Information

TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE

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HOTEL INFORMATION

Please note that there will be NO per diem so you will be responsible for your own meals.  Parents will need to pick you up at UNT when you have completed debating.

Kelsey Hits Single at Plano West

While the Texas Rangers where on their way to winning their first World Series game, Kelsey Annu-Essuman rang up another point towards TFA qualification. She did it by breaking to Octo's at Plano West and finishing 10th. She has now accumulated 7 of the 10 points necessary to qualify and has continued her streak of breaking at every local TFA tournament in which she has competed.

Selena Yanez came .5 speaker points away from breaking for the first time as a Novice LD debater.  Rolando Velasquez and Ivan Garcia also missed breaking by speaks.

Congrats also go to Gabby and Alex for winning rounds at their first tournament.

DIA DE LOS MUERTOS

Debaters meet in room 207 at 1230 Thursday.

Plano West Information

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Debate Celebration

Debate team celebrates Alex's birthday.  Thanks to Q for organizing best debate party.

St. Mark's Info

POLICY SCHEDULE

LD SCHEDULE

DIRECTIONS

HOTEL

JBS Debaters Gopher The Points

The Judge Barefoot Debaters had several members earn TFA points at the Grand Prairie tournament this weekend.

Colton Donica and Lucero Pina had a break out tournament.  They finished the prelims undefeated and as the number one seed.  They advanced to semi finals, finished in 3rd Place and Colton won 1st Place Best Speaker.  As a result DP earned 4 TFA points.

Also earning their first two TFA points of the season in VCX were Emilio Lozano and Rolando Velasquez who broke to Quarters and finished in 5th Place.  Mike Garcia and Reuben Howard finished in 10th Place with a 3-1 record.

Kelsey Annu-Essuman continued her streak of breaking at every TFA tournament this year.  She broke to Octos and earned an additional TFA state point.  This brings her total to six.  Queztabel Benavides also broke to Octos in VLD and earned her first TFA point of the season.

Haley Estrada and Tyffany Robles, debating in only their second tournament, finished in 2nd Place in Novice CX on a narrow 2-1 split decision.  Several of the Novice LD debaters finished with winning records this weekend.

This was a very successful weekend and it would not have been possible without the support of the parents who chaperoned this weekend.  In particular, we would like to recognize and thank Ms. Adams (Joe's mom), Ms. Howard (Reuben's mom) and Ms. Velasquez (the Twins' mom) for volunteering to help this weekend.

Grand Prairie - October 2nd

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JBS Law Magnet's Fabulous Fives at Newman Smith

The JBS Law Magnet debate team debuted its novice debaters at the Newman Smith Debate & Speech tournament this weekend.

All the novice debaters won at least one debate round and demonstrated a contagious enthusiasm throughout the long weekend.  Ruben Garcia and Daniel Lozano became the first novice debaters to break.  They broke to Quarter Finals, winning 5th Place and each winning the first trophies for the novice squad.

Kelsey Annu-Essuman continued to display that she is one of the top junior VLD debaters on the circuit.  She went undefeated in preliminary rounds and advanced to Quarters, finishing in 5th Place.  She earned an additional 2 TFA state points, upping her total to 5.  After just three TFA tournaments, she is half way to her goal of securing TFA State qualification.

Rolando Velasquez and Emilio Lozano once again started strong with a 2-0 record, but were unable to win either of their break rounds.

The complete squad, including all 8 NLD debaters will competing at Grand Prairie next Saturday.

Finally, we would like to thank Ms. Guerrero and Ms. Rojas for helping chaperone this weekend.

Newman Smith

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SCHEDULE

Parents please remember that these times are subject to change if the tournament runs late.  Students should be picked up at the front of the school where buses run and the flag poles are located (facing Josey).

Friday night the students will be accompanied by Mr. Gonzalez, Ms. Rojas and Ms. Guerrero.  Saturday, Ms. Rojas and Ms. Guerrero will monitor the students.

Heard Through the Grapevine: Kelsey Breaks at TOC Qualifier & Wins 4th Best Speaker

Kelsey Annu Essuman became the first junior debater to ever break at a TOC tournament and the first JBS debater to win a top speaker award at a TOC tournament.  

Kelsey had a solid 4-1 prelim performance which garnered her the 6th seed in the tournament. Her Double Octo's appearance also earned her an additional TFA point.

The CX squad helped make this the most successful Law Magnet weekend at Grapevine in ten years.  All three policy teams debated in break rounds. Rolando Velasquez and Emilio Lozano finished with a 3-2 record and earned the 24th spot.  Rolando also placed 38th best speaker.  Colton Donica and Lucero Pina also finished 3-2.   Normally, a 3-2 record is enough to clear at Grapevine, but this year even a 4-1 team did not break since the tournament decided to only break to Octo's

The full squad next debates at Newman Smith where the novices will debate for the first time.

Grapevine Classic - September 17-18

The Judge Barefoot Sanders Law Magnet team will be competing at the Grapevine Classic, a TOC and TFA qualifier.  Below is important information for the weekend:

SCHOOL MAP

TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE

HOTEL INFORMATION

Students need to bring money for dinner Friday night and lunch Saturday. Breakfast will be available for the students in the hotel lobby.

Best Colleges - Education - US News

Best Colleges - Education - US News

This website will give you a great glimpse into the schools you are interested in attending. Take a look at the schools recent debate graduates are attending: Amherst, Smith, Wellesley, University of Chicago, George Washington, Georgetown, Agnes Scott, University of Texas and Southern Methodist University. You can also check out tuition costs and profiles of the schools.

Greenhill Classic 2010

The JBS Law Magnet Debate TOC team members will be competing at Greenhill this weekend.  Here are important links:

GREENHILL MAP

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HOTEL INFO

Nothing Plain About Top Ten Finish at Plano Sr.

The Judge Barefoot Sanders Law Magnet Debate Team called in the new season with a Top Ten finish at the Plano Senior Wildcat Roundup. 

Kelsey Annu-Essuman placed tenth in Varsity LD earning two TFA points.

Mike Garcia and Reuben Howard, debating in their first varsity tournament, debated in a 2-1 break round and finished 2-2.  Yastril Nanez won her first round as a varsity debater and Quetzabel Benavides missed breaking in VLD by a few speaker points.

The team next competes at the Greenhill (TOC) Classic, September 10th-13th. 

Wild Cat Round Up - Plano Sr. Debate Tournament

The Judge Barefoot Sanders Law Magnet Debate Team will be competing at their first tournament, September 4th at Plano Sr. High School.   Competitors should arrive 30-45 minutes prior to first round. 

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Rolando Finishes Fifth in Headline Writing

Rolando Velasquez was the sole Law Magnet student to place in the top ten this weekend at the Regional UIL meet hosted by Baylor University.  He placed 5th in Headline Writing and is the 2nd alternate for the state competition.

UIL Official Results

Regional UIL - Baylor University

The Barefoot Sanders Law Magnet Academic and Speech teams will be competing at the Regional UIL tournament at Baylor University this weekend.  Below are links to Baylor UIL handbook which contains tournament schedule, Baylor map and the hotel information.

We will be leaving after school Friday and eating dinner in Waco.  Please pack lightly as we have very little storage room.  Only speech people need to bring dress clothes.

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Fairfield Inn - Waco North

Check Out Mean Green Workshops

Most of you who will be attending a debate institute ("camp") this summer will be attending the Mean Green Workshops at UNT.

Go to their website to learn about dates, cost, etc.

UIL SPRING MEET RESULTS

The following is a list of Judge Barefoot Sanders Law Magnet students who qualified to UIL regionals in Waco (Baylor University), April 25th:

Kelsey Annu-Essuman - 1st Place Ready Writing
Brittany Williams - 3rd Place Poetry Interp
Mark Smith - 3rd Place Current Events
Rolando Velasquez - 3rd Place Headline Writing
Lorena Nanez - 4th Place Informative Speaking (alternate)

Other students who placed:

Harvey Luna, Quarter Finalist, LD Debate
Rolando Velasquez, 6h Place Ready Writing
Francisco Gonzales, 10th Place, Computer Applications

For full results go to the UIL Link

Congrats to Debaters Who Made it Into National Honor Society

The Judge Barefoot Sanders Law Magnet Debate team would like to congratulate and recognize its members who will be inducted into this year's National Honor Society class:

Kelsey Annu-Essuman

Queztabel Benavides

Emilio Lozano

Harvey Luna

Rolando Velasquez

David Webb

Please remember that you can be eligible as late as your senior year to become a National Honor Society member.  So if you are close to the overall 90 GPA standard, keep working hard and you can make it.

UIL ACADEMIC AND LD DEBATE 3/27 @ SKYLINE

The Judge Barefoot Sanders Law Magnet UIL team will be competing at Skyline this coming Saturday, March 27th.

MAP TO SKYLINE

UIL District 9-5A Champions: 11 Years in Row

Dropping only one ballot throughout the whole tournament, Lucero Pina and Colton Donica won the UIL District tournament (DP).  DP defeated an upstart UDL team from W. T. White in the semi's.  They then trounced Bernker in the finals on a 3-0 decision.  DP advances to UIL State at the University of Texas, March 11th - 14th.

THANKS to Ms. Rojas and Ms. Taylor for helping.  A special thanks to Mr. Perez and Skills USA for the awesome breakfast tacos and other food.  Finally, thanks to Townview's security and custodial staff for helping us make this a successful UIL tournament.  

UIL State Schedule

Williams & Wingham Climb to the Top at Flower Mound

After getting lost in a first round loss, Brittany Williams and Zavier Wingham cleared through their remaining rounds to capture the VCX title at the Flower Mound debate tournament.

Also breaking at the tournament were Efrain Vera and David Webb.  The "super-novice" team earned their first two points towards TFA State.  While a long shot, they still have a serious chance of qualifying.

This marked the second local TFA tournament in the three weeks a Law Magnet team wins.  It's also the third VCX championship for the squad.

Forget the NFL Let's Talk TOC - Camacho-Stephens Qualify for TOC

Eddie Camacho and Charlie Stephens etched themselves a place in Law Magnet history by becoming the first debaters to ever qualify to the TOC.  They did it by winning 3 out rounds and finishing 3rd at the Golden Desert Tournament hosted by UNLV.

The picture on the left is similar to the "trophy" they received for their Final Four finish.    We're still thinking whether to hang it in the debate room or the courtroom.  We might even hang it in Mr. Palagonia's offiee.

Great job CS.  I am proud of you and so is the staff of the Law Magnet.

Barefoot Debaters Lasso Another TFA Qualifier and Win at Coppell Cowboy's Classic

The Judge Barefoot Sanders Law Magnet debate team qualified another debater to TFA State and won the Coppell Cowboy's Classic VCX division.

Kelsey Annu-Essuman earned the #1 seed in VLD by going undefeated in the prelims. She ended the weekend by qualifying to TFA State and winning the first place best speaker award.  She becomes the first sophomore to qualify to TFA State in LD debate.

Eddie Camacho and Charlie Stephens dominated the VCX pool that included teams from Greenhill, St. Mark's, Jesuit and Colleyville.  With their second consecutive tournament win, CS is on the verge of being triple qualified for TFA state.  They have now amassed 28 TFA points.  The  two will now get ready to vie for their second TOC bid at the Golden Desert Invitational in two weeks.

COPPELL GOOGLE MAP

COPPELL CLASSIC SCHEDULE