Chaparral Star Academy Speech & Debate

Walt Whitman wrote, "What good amid these, O me, O life? / Answer. / That you are here—that life exists and identity, / That the powerful play goes on, and you may contribute a verse."

While Quinn was with us, her verse played loud and with unyielding vibrancy. We mourn the loss of such a voice, of such a singular talent. For much of the existence of our program, Quinn -- and her family -- played an integral part. We learned much from her and are better for the experience. She will always be a part of us, our team, and our school. Celebrate her verse, what you learned from it, and give her family the love and light they need to mourn.

We love you, Quinn. And we miss you terribly.

A memorial in Quinn’s honor will be held on Saturday, April 2 @ 2pm. Memorial gifts may be directed to:
https://bestfriends.org/donate/memory
Best Friends Animal Society
5001 Angel Canyon Road
Kanab UT 84741
Attn: Juli S.
or by phone:
435-644-2001 Option 5

Understanding that not all who wish to attend will be able, a link has been created to send virtual messages. Please take this opportunity to share your condolences, but more importantly if you have a favorite memory of Quinn, her family would love to treasure that with you.

https://videobooth.app/quinnmowrergustin?fbclid=IwAR0G8qBupYdziguPMD5Z6PG7w76ATgVh31qz1NTRWMWIulKeIOJUVLAOrEU

Chaparral Star Academy closes out the Fall 2020 competitive season with 5 events qualified for the Texas Forensic Association State Tournament. We've only taken 5 events out for competition, so 5/5 is a nice way to end the year.

Congratulations to ...
-- Kimber Hageman for qualifying Informative Speaking and Original Oratory
-- Marianna Herold for qualifying Informative Speaking and Original Oratory
-- Anica Nichols for qualifying Program Oral Interpretation

Next semester, we'll only have State and National competitions! Way to get it done, ladies.

Congratulations to Kimber Hageman! Just named as an NSDA Academic All-American!

Chaparral Star Academy Speech & Debate ended the 2019-2020 Season with two students at the National Speech and Debate Association National Tournament!

Julia Craciun, in Program Oral Interpretation, and Kimber Hageman, in Informative Speaking, competed in the first online national tournament. They filmed their performances and submitted them in the past few weeks, a strange adjustment to the COVID-19 outbreak.

And Julia Craciun made it to elimination rounds! She ends her CSA Speech career with a place in the top 60 POIs in the nation. We are so thankful for her and Kimber's contributions this year (and years past). Additionally, Julia was chosen as the Heart of Texas District Student of the year, and her participation at the 2020 National Tournament marks four consecutive qualifications, a first for our school and the only Austin student to accomplish this feat. Kimber set herself up for a similar run of four consecutive nationals for the 2021 edition in Des Moines (hopefully).

We are grateful for all of our students. From Hendrickson / Pflugerville to Online Nationals, it's been a wild season, and we can't wait to see what 2020-2021 has in store!

Enjoy your Summer!

Online camp is coming up, so email F. Rivera if you'd like to join.

At 7:00PM this evening, celebrate the 2020 Chaparral Star Academy Graduating Class and watch this Livestream: https://youtu.be/xyL1YrOOLZk

2020 CSA Graduation Comencment Ceremony

Congratulations to the Class of 2020! Through difficult times, y'all persevered. Your teachers, your peers, and your families are proud of you. If you can't tell, the World could use your help, so come on up here and help change it.

A special congratulations to the CSA Speaking Sharks who'll be walking across the graduation stage tomorrow, especially our Team Captain Julia Craciun! (If you watch the live stream, you'll see her give the Valedictorian Address, 'cuz she real smart.)

Julia and Michael did a thing at . @ Franklin High School (El Paso, Texas)

Harvard 2020

Chaparral Star Academy had its best team showing at the Harvard Grand National Tournament ever! 10 students competed and broke 11 events at the Nation's largest annual speech and debate tournament. Individual results are as follows:

-- Julia Craciun: 3rd Place in Duo Interpretation (w/ Olson); Quarterfinalist in Program Oral Interpretation; Octofinalist in Humorous Interpretation
-- Ayanni Granada: Quarterfinalist in Humorous Interpretation
-- Kimber Hageman: Octofinalist in Informative Speaking and Original Oratory
-- Michael Olson: 3rd Place in Duo Interpretation (w/ Craciun); Octofinalist in Humorous Interpretation; Double-Octofinalist in Original Oratory
-- Anica Nichols: Double-Octofinalist in Original Oratory
-- Ammaar Siddiqui: Quarterfinalist in Informative Speaking and Double-Octofinalist in Original Oratory

After this incredible showing, we take a few weeks to prepare for the Texas Forensic State Tournament in El Paso! We're so proud of our incredible Sharks and can't wait to see what the have yet to accomplish.

Thank you to everyone who came out to our Swing Tournaments at Westlake High School!

We're very proud of our team for hosting and the following competitors who entered the Westlake portion of the Tournament:

-- Igor Borracini: 3rd Place in Novice Extemporaneous Speaking
-- Khang Dang: Semifinalist in Novice Extemporaneous Speaking
-- Blake Leschber: Semifinalist in Informative Speaking

We're also incredibly thankful for the assistance of Booster Club offered. Liz, Destiny, Joy, and Erica led a team of absolute all-star parents.

We'd like to thank our judges (especially volunteers!) and alumni who gave their time for what can be a stressful weekend.

And finally, we'd like to thank Joe Uhler and the Westlake Squad for being so gracious.

Our team now focuses on Harvard, TFA State, and the major tournaments we've been working towards!

Yesterday, Chaparral Star Academy sent a small crew of kiddos to McNeil High School for our last local tournament of the year (other than the one we host in two weeks). Our guerrilla squad performed wonderfully, with the following results:

— Blake Leschber: 2nd Place in Informative Speaking and Semifinalist in Domestic Extemporaneous Speaking
— Brooklyn Sherwood: 3rd Place in Prose
— Kadin Ward: Tournament Champion of Novice Extemporaneous Speaking

Now, the team prepares for our 3rd swing tournaments with Westlake High School!

We hope to see y’all there!

CSA and Westlake are hosting their 3rd Swing Tournaments at Westlake High School on Jan. 31 and Feb. 1!

We need judges! If you'd volunteer your time, we'll work with your schedule! If you'd want to be paid, we can accommodate! If you don't know how to judge, we'll train you!

Please sign up on the Google Form below! Please share this! Please recruit as many people as possible!

https://forms.gle/1n4UYu14TbdRtL3o9