1.  Is your piece totally memorized? Now is the time to work on those “trouble” spots!  You should begin asking teachers if you can perform your skit during Advisories. Try to schedule at least 2 times. However, be courteous and don’t interrupt a class to ask a teacher for a time. Ask for constructive comments!  Don’t forget to say your name, your school, what the title of your piece is and who wrote it!  Remember to stay within your time limits! There are penalty points given for going over or under the time limits! See your Tournament Packet for details.  Don’t forget the Dress Code! White top and black bottom. No hats, logo shirts, props or costumes of any kind!  At the end, be proud! Have your team come back together in the center for a bow and thank the judges! The Speech Tournament is almost here! We are SO proud of ALL of your hard work! Keep it up!

2.  Make sure to check for your TIME and ROOM for the Tournament at Station Middle School on Saturday, March 7th. They will be posted outside of Room T6, as well as on the Speech Tournament site (on Station’s website). You should know this before the tournament!  Scheduled times are FINAL unless there is an emergency or illness. We scheduled over 850 students and the schedule is now finalized. Please do NOT swap times with other families or groups. Your child’s judging sheets and paperwork are in their scheduled room for their scheduled time! If you switch rooms and times with other families, your child’s group will NOT be able to perform because the judges will not have the proper paperwork. Please come at YOUR scheduled time!  Be sure to arrive at least 30 minutes before your child’s scheduled performance because there are well over 850 children performing, so parking can be difficult. We want everyone calm, confident and ready to perform. When you arrive, participants will gather in the lunchroom. You will only be allowed into the halls 5 minutes before your designated time so that the area is quiet. Please understand and cooperate with hall monitor requests!  Students arriving at their designated room after the scheduled time will NOT be allowed to perform! We have a very tight schedule that must be adhered to in order for all groups to perform on time! Other arrangements may be possible if you come late, but those arrangements will probably have to be after the tournament is complete since we do not currently have any open time slots to offer.  No costumes of any kind will be permitted. All students must wear dark blue (NO BLUE JEANS) or black bottoms (skirt or pants) and a white top (without any logo). No hats of any kind are permitted. Any violations will result in a 5 point penalty to your group scores.  Know your time requirements! Solo: 4-10 minutes, Group: 4-12 minutes.  Video cameras are welcome, but NO flash photography or cell phones, please!  No props, make-up, lights or sound effects will be allowed. However, students may use the desks, chairs, or stools that are provided by the school.  If someone in your child’s group becomes ill, please let us know so that we can accommodate them at another time. The Speech Tournament is almost here!