Neuqua Valley Speech Team

Here is the information you need for Saturday’s tournament at Neuqua!

Who’s going?

The tentative roster can be found here. Everyone is competing! Please let me know if there are any problems!

Be at Neuqua (main building) at 7:00a!

Because we have to clean up afterwards, don’t expect to be finished until 8:00p. (If you need to leave early, talk to a coach!)

Extemp and Radio?

You will prep once in prelims and once in finals.

Food situation?

Please bring your own lunch!

We are also asking events to bring the same snacks as you did for Open House:

If you are in the following categories, you should bring a package of snacks (cookies, chips, brownies, muffins, etc): DDA, DI, HDA, HI, OC, POE, PR

If you are in the following categories, you should bring a 12/24-pack of drinks (juice, soda, water, Diet Cherry Pepsi): EXT, DEC, INFO, OO, SOS

If you are in the following category, you should bring a bag of cups: Imp

If you are in the following category, you should bring a package of napkins: RS

We also accept homemade cookies from anyone. Because yum.

Here is the information you need for Saturday’s tournament at Thornton!

Who’s going?

The tentative roster can be found here. Please let me know if there are any problems!

What time should you be at Neuqua?

We leave at 6:15a. (Yes, that’s early. It’s a long drive.)

When will it end?

We should be home around 6:30p.

Extemp and Radio?

Radio and Extemp will prep ONCE at the tournament and have one prelim round double-judged. You will prep again in finals if you make it.

Food situation?

Concessions WILL be available. But feel free to bring your own food!

Here is the information you need for Saturday’s tournaments at Fremd and Prospect!

Who’s going?

The tentative roster can be found here. Please let me know if there are any problems!

What time should you be at Neuqua?

We leave for both schools at 6:30a. Be there early!

When will it end?

Fremd: We should be home around 7:00p.
Prospect: We should be home around 4:30p.

Extemp and Radio?

Fremd: Radio and Extemp will both prep at the tournament twice for prelims and once again for finals. (You may choose either speech for Rd. 3.)
Prospect: Extemp will prep for two rounds and choose their favorite speech for Rd. 3. Radio will prep ahead of time (and I will send you the packet on Thursday). There is no final round.

Food situation?

Fremd: “We will have lunch concessions. We keep things simple with pizza and chips etc.” There will be no breakfast available, though.
Prospect: “We will be selling concessions all day, with some limited breakfast items (donuts, muffins) and pizza for lunch.” They also say you should NOT use DoorDash/UberEats. So if you want your own food, bring it with you.

…

OPEN HOUSE

On Monday, we will NOT have a regular team meeting after school. We will, however, have our annual Open House for family and friends!

Here the the DRAFT schedule. If there’s a problem, we need to know ASAP.

Who?

All of you! This is required for all Speech members (unless you have spoken to me already). Family members and friends are encouraged to attend!

When?

Monday, November 18.

Speech team members should arrive in the LMC (library) at 5:00p for pictures. Dress in Speech attire! Look good!

Family members and friends should arrive by 5:15p for a welcome and announcements!

Performances begin promptly at 5:30p. (Those who have music obligations have been scheduled to perform early!)

At 7:00p, we will begin special performances in the LMC. We should be done before 8:00p.

What should you bring?

If you are in the following categories, you should bring a package of snacks (cookies, chips, brownies, muffins, etc): DDA, DI, HDA, HI, OC, POE, PR

If you are in the following categories, you should bring a 12/24-pack of drinks (juice, soda, water, Diet Cherry Pepsi): EXT, DEC, INFO, OO, SOS

If you are in the following category, you should bring a bag of cups: Imp

If you are in the following category, you should bring a package of napkins: RS

We also accept homemade cookies from anyone. Because yum.

Here is the information you need for Saturday’s tournament at Wheaton North!

Who’s going?

The tentative roster can be found here. Please let me know if there are any problems!

What time should you be at Neuqua?

We leave at 6:45a. Be there early! 6:30-ish to be safe.

When will it end?

We should be home around 6:30p.

Extemp and Radio?

Extemp will prep every round.

Radio will prep at home the day before. If you make it to finals, you will PREP AT THE TOURNAMENT.

Food situation?

Concessions WILL be available, so bring about $10 for that. But feel free to bring your own food!

The Mock Tourney will be Saturday, October 26 from 8-11am in the Speech hallway! Dress well!

…

Here is the information you need for the following Saturday’s tournament at York High School!

Who’s going?

The tentative roster can be found here. Please let me know if there are any problems!

What time should you be at Neuqua?

Buses leave at 6:30a by the auditorium lobby. (Be there early! 6:15-ish to be safe.)

When will it end?

We should be home around 6:30p. But you can make phone calls when we have a more reliable arrival time.

Extemp and Radio?

Extemp will prep twice at the tournament and once for finals.

Radio will prep at home the day before. You will use that prep for finals if you make it. (Varsity Radio people will PREP AT THE TOURNAMENT if you make finals.)

Food situation?

We will bring SOME food to the tournament for you to nibble on throughout the day. However, York says that lunch will be available for $10, and it’ll include chicken tenders, garlic bread sticks, penne alfredo and a bottle of water. Snacks will also be available for purchase throughout the day. You may buy food there, or you can bring your own lunch, or you may do DoorDash (or anything similar) if your parents are okay with it.

The team has been posted here!

Congratulations to everyone who made it and many thanks to the more than 135 of you who tried out. It’s never easy choosing from so many of you (especially when there’s a limit to how many we can take), and if you didn’t make it, we hope you will consider trying out again next year. We unfortunately had to make a lot of difficult cuts!

Due to the high level of interest, coaches will NOT be available to discuss your auditions on an individual basis.

To those who made it, three things:

1) The first team meeting for NEW MEMBERS ONLY (“Novices”) is MONDAY afternoon at 2:45p in room B223. This meeting is mandatory and will last until about 6:00p. If there are any problems with attending, you *must* contact Mr. Mehta. (The first full team meeting for everybody, including Varsity members, will be Tuesday, Sep. 10 after school.)

2) You and your parents must read this packet, sign the appropriate forms, and pay the Activity Fee next week! You will not be allowed to enter the room on Tuesday, September 10 without these items.

3) Please join Google Classroom (class code: hmyyp62) so we can send you reminders/alerts in the stream.

Thanks for your cooperation and congratulations to everyone!

If you’re new to the team, you should come to ONE of the following informational meetings:

Tuesday, Aug. 27 at 2:45p in the Main Building in the LMC!

Wednesday, Aug. 28 at 2:45p in the Birkett Freshman Center Forum Room, H128!

Auditions will take place for Varsity members on Thursday, Sep. 5 (right after school).

Everyone else will audition Wednesday and Thursday, Sep. 4-5. You can sign up for a slot right here.

Everyone will need to read the orientation packet and fill out The Form! All of that information can be found right here.

If you’re wondering what you may be reading during auditions, that packet can be found right here. (You don’t need to memorize this. We’re only posting this so you’re not surprised at auditions!) Auditions will take place in B223.

We will post the new team members on this site by Friday night, Sep. 6.

(All NEW members of the team will be expected to attend an after-school “Speech boot camp” after school on September 9. If there are conflicts, we’ll deal with those at a later time!)

FOR VARSITY MEMBERS ONLY: You will perform 30 seconds to a minute of your NEW PIECE (or at least something from the event you want to do).

…

If you’re unable to make it to the audition date, or you have any other questions, please contact Coach Mehta.

For anyone interested in attending the Wildcat Speech Team Summer Camp, all the information you need is below!

NEW: We will have separate “tracks” for (1) returning team members, (2) middle schoolers, and (3) everyone else just curious about public speaking!

Important things to note:

• The camp will take place August 5-8 from 8:00-11:00a each day. (There is no camp on Friday!)
• The cost is $160 and all checks should be made out to Wildcat Speech. (Students will bring the check to Camp on the first day.)
• Your participation in this Summer Camp does not automatically guarantee you a spot on the 2024-25 Neuqua Valley Speech Team. It will, however, make you a better public speaker, and that is a skill you’ll be able to use on and off the team!

If you are interested in attending, please fill out this form as soon as possible! (We’ll be in touch with you at the end of July with more details.)

If you have any other questions, let Coach Mehta know.

Can’t wait to see you in the fall!

Here are the videos from Sectionals. These videos are only for your personal use, to send to family and friends. They are not listed in the YouTube directory and you can only watch them if you have the links.

DI — Avaneesh Thiyagarajan
ES — April Zhang (State Champion)
HDA — Zamirah Brandon and Andrea Ramirez
HI — Ben Mosshamer
IS — Meiling Sun (2^nd in State)
Info — Alyssa Shroff (4^th in State)
OD — Simran Singh
OC — Ben Mosshamer
OO — April Zhang (State Champion)
PR — Avaneesh Thiyagarajan (State Champion)
SOS — Anurag Ghosh (State Champion)
Performance in the Round

If you are interested in going to State, the necessary information for your parents is in this letter! We need all paperwork on Monday at the team meeting.

You also must fill out this form by Sunday night.

(One quick thing: The “NV Speech State Tournament” on Pushcoin is not visible as I post this but it should be up by Monday. Payments must be in by Monday night!)