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The Vincent J. Borelli Speech & Debate Education Day Information

We welcome everyone to join us on October 21st at Summit High School for a day of learning for both students, parents, coaches and educators. The first half of the day will feature workshops for those new to speech and debate activities! In addition, we will have teacher and judge workshops for those who would like to learn how they can share in New Jersey speech and debate activities.

Summit High School will once again offer their ‘suit swap’ where students can donate their old suits and/or pick up a new-ish one at a great price!!

Lunch and snacks will be sold at the event. Our teachers, coaches and judges will be provided lunch free-of-charge.

We welcome everyone who is interested in learning more about the NJSDL events and tournaments!! Click the following link in order to register!

Interest/Registration Form for Educators, Coaches, Parents and Judges

If you’re an educator who plans on bringing students for the workshop portion of the event, please complete this Student Registration/Workshop Form for each student so we can plan for an appropriate amount of space and instructors.

We will be posting more detailed information as the date draws closer.

ADULT WORKSHOP SCHEDULE (Coach, Educators, Parents and Judges Welcome!)
Student workshops schedule will be posted as soon as it is finalized.
8:00 – 9:00 Registration 
9:00 – 10:00 Teaching Speech  or Tournaments 101 
10:00 – 10:15 Late Registration I 
10:15 – 11:15 Teaching Debate  orJudge Training 
11:30 – 12:30 Worlds / Parliamentary   or Judge Training 
12:30 – 1:30 LUNCH / Late Registration II 
1:45 – 3:00 Round 1 – Adults can observe and practice judging rounds w/ debrief.
3:15 – 4:30 Round 2 – Adults can observe and practice judging rounds w/ debrief.
4:45 – 5:00 Closing Ceremony 

Calendar & Registration 23-24

Link to the 2023-2024 Calendar is here!

From Mr. Adam Leonard, our secretary-treasurer….

I hope you’re all having a restful summer! With August upon us, it’s time to start getting the NJSDL organized for the start of another season. The league membership form is linked here. We only need one submission from each school. We also need each school that intends to be a member for this year to complete the form, even if you have done so in the past and the information remains the same. Completion of this form allows the league leadership to plan events accurately and ensure that everyone is included, update the league’s roster, and adequately provide insurance coverage for league events and members. Please submit the form by Friday, September 8.

     If you are receiving this message and are no longer the coach of your school’s program, please do us a favor and forward this email to the new advisor or inform us so that we can update our records and reach out to that individual. 

      Many of you pre-pay your dues annual because they are included on the invoice for each year’s state championship tournament. For those that defer payment, are deciding to rejoin after a hiatus, or are joining for the first time, league membership dues are $175 if paid before October 31. Dues increase to $200 if paid between October 31 and January 31. League membership is required to participate in the NJSDL State Championship Tournament in March. Middle schools are exempt from membership dues. The high schools that are already paid for 2023-2024 are:

Arthur L. Johnson, Barringer, Bridgewater-Raritan, Central, Cherry Hill East, Columbia, Delbarton, Elizabeth, Freehold Township, Hunterdon Central, Manville, Millburn, Monroe Township, Montgomery Township, Montville Township, Morris Knolls, Mountain Lakes, Newark School of Fashion and Design, Newark Science, Newark Tech, Noor Ul-Iman, North Star Academy, Princeton, Randolph, Ridge, Ridgewood, Summit, The Pingry School, Thomas Edison Energysmart Charter School, Timothy Christian, and University.

Let me know if you need an invoice in order to pay your dues. The league’s W-9 is linked. Dues payments (and payments for the speech festivals, Borelli tournament, high school and middle school state championships, and the New Jersey district tournaments) can be sent to the league address:

New Jersey Speech & Debate League

#337

203 Main Street

Flemington, NJ 08822

Help the league grow by sending the membership form to friends and colleagues at other schools! I’m looking forward to working with all of you again this year. Don’t hesitate to reach out with any questions or concerns, either to me or one of the other league officers. Most importantly, enjoy your remaining weeks of summer break!

Take Care,

Adam Leonard

NJSDL Secretary-Treasurer

TEAM NJ UPDATES @ NSDA Nationals!!!!

Check this post to see the most recent updates at the National Speech and Debate Association Championships!!!

4:32PM

Worlds Schools Debate – New Jersey Gold advances to Double-Octafinals.

4:30PM

All 3 Senators advance: Aamvi Tripathi from Hunterdon Central, Ginny Kim from Ridge, and Prisha Bagul in Bridgewater Raritan.

Congratulations to the following competitors from Team NJ who have advanced to Rounds 7 & 8 at Nationals:

In DI: Ella Szabados (2264) from Summit

In Info: Matt Hecker (4112) from Summit

In IX: Amy Cao (5111) from Ridge; Akshaya Karanam (5180) from Mt. St. Mary

In OO: Ruhi Kulkarni (4511) and Jeet Patel (4512) from Monroe; Abigail Lee (4550) from Ridge

In PF: Alex Calder and Romir Patel (1122) from Delbarton; Margulis and Banerjee (1079) from Princeton

In POI: Zachary Siegel (3515) from Summit; Natalie Ramirez-Porras (3668) from Ridge

In USX: Aparna Iyer (5543) from Ridge; Riya Devroy (5636) from Millburn

Middle School State Championships!

Click here for more information on the tournament.

Click Here to volunteer as a judge!

We are asking any high school speech/debate competitor to help our middle school students at their state championships on Friday, May 19th at Long Valley Middle School.  Please consider volunteering.  We’re offering Declamation, Oratory, Prose & Poetry Interpretation, Congress, and Public Forum Debate.  We can also use help in running the event as well (award setup, topics, etc.). All students in grades 9-12 are welcome!! We will be happy to sign off on any community service hours and dinner will be provided.  Live doc with event and judging information can be accessed at njsdl.live/ms23  S

Schedule is currently as follows: 

4:00 On-site Check-in

4:15 Announcements for all Students and Judges

4:30 Speech Round 1

4:30 Congress Session Begins

5:15 Speech Round 2

6:15 Dinner Break and Speech Finals Announcement

6:45 Congress Session Continues

6:45: Speech Final Rounds

7:45: Awards Assembly

FEBRUARY VIRTUAL SERIES AWARDS

The Virtual Awards Ceremony from yesterday is available for you to share with your students as a video recording as well as Google Slides. All results have been posted on Speechwire.com (https://postings.speechwire.com/r-tournament.php?tournid=13470) and the eballots have been released for review.

Thank you and we look forward to the April 2023 Online Speech Festival celebrating Earth Day! Our themed Pro Con Challenge topic will be Resolved: The United States should increase its use of nuclear energy for commercial energy production. The Prepared Prompt topics inspired by Earth Day Prompts will be released on or before April 1.

We hope that in addition to providing the students on your team with another opportunity for judge feedback, these festivals can provide the opportunity for a class at your school to connect with the theme from a curricular standpoint and give new students a taste of speech and debate through the themed events of Pro Con Challenge, Prepared Prompt, and Original Poetry. Please feel free to share with other coaches and teachers the Festival Series Flyer and the Speechwire.com Registration Page for the April Festival!

-Ray

Raymond Shay
Director of Technology & Interim Director of Business Administration

Head Coach, Speech and Debate Team


Princeton Academy of the Sacred Heart
www.princetonacademy.org

Register to become a Belonging & Inclusion Advocate

What is a Belonging and Inclusion Station? 

The Belonging and Inclusion Station (BIS)—formerly Equity Office—exists to address violations of harassment and discrimination policies and provide a safe space for individuals who report harassment and discrimination incidents at NSDA district and national tournaments. 

What is the purpose of a Belonging and Inclusion Station?

The BIS may serve as a resource for any student, coach, judge, or official participating at an NSDA-sponsored tournament. Complaints may be filed if an individual feels as if an instance of harassment and/or discrimination has occurred. Examples include:

  • Perceived discriminatory practice on the basis of (but not limited to) race/color, religion, ethnicity, national origin, gender, gender identity/expression, age, disability, sexual orientation, and/or veteran or military status.
  • Perceived retaliation, harassment, or intimidation due to an individual’s filing of a complaint or participating in an intake regarding a violation of the NSDA’s harassment and discrimination policies.

What is the purpose of a Belonging and Inclusion Advocate?

The Belonging and Inclusion Advocate (BIA) is a designated member of the tournament staff who represents the Belonging and Inclusion Station. Advocates serve as the first point of contact for tournament attendees with inquiries related to harassment and discrimination.

For more details or to register! Visit the NSDA Belonging and Inclusion Page.