Student/School News
CONGRATULATIONS to Kelly Weber (Class of 2011) who has been named the winner of the national 2011 Chrysostom Oratory Competition. The Association of Classical and Christian Schools (ACCS) holds this competition each year to inspire other ACCS educators and students to pursue rhetorical excellence. The award is named for St. John Chrysostom (347-407), an early church father who served as the Archbishop of Constantinople and who was known for his eloquence in preaching. His name literally means golden-mouth.
In order to represent Tall Oaks at the national level, Kelly first won an in-school competition with an abridged version of her senior thesis entitled Finding Freedom. Kelly summarizes her arguments: My thesis was about finding freedom in the modern age. Freedom today is not what freedom used to be in the classical age. We can find true liberty in Christianity, which gives us freedom to become who God created us to be and to be free from sin and death.
All accredited ACCS schools may submit one entry by a junior or senior in that school. (Tall Oaks limited its in-school competition to seniors.) Tall Oaks submitted a recording of Kelly's presentation to ACCS, and the judges from the other five participating schools rated her speech as the best. Kelly reflects on the experience, The Chrysostom Oratory Competition was a wonderful experience to practice my thesis and to present it before a different set of judges.
Kelly received a $1000 cash scholarship and she will present Finding Freedom again at the annual ACCS conference in Atlanta, Georgia in June.
In addition to winning that prestigious award, Kelly's speaking skills have also been recognized in the Veterans of Foreign Wars Voice of Democracy Contest, for which she received $250 in scholarships for winning the Newark VFW Post 475 competition and placing second in the district with her speech on the topic, Does My Generation Have a Role in America's Future? Kelly has also received a $12,500 merit and art scholarship from Belhaven University, which she will attend in the fall.
TALL OAKS DEBATERS TAKE ON OUTSIDE COMPETITION
February 19, 2011 - In the ninth grade Argumentation & Debate class at Tall Oaks, we build on the foundation of sound reasoning ability developed in the eighth grade Logic class by addressing issues of public policy and values. We also offer a debate elective that meets once a week for those who want to keep growing in their debate skills after the ninth grade. The debate formats we use promote careful listening, edifying speech, and an overall demeanor of civility, all as expressions of our Christian discipleship.
Recently, some of our students practiced those skills outside of school by participating in Saturday debates. On February 19, Tall Oaks sent five teams of two students each to Rockbridge Academy in Millersville, Maryland, to participate in the Mid-Atlantic Christian Debate League's Winter Tournament, which also included Summit Christian Academy from Yorktown, Virginia. The topic was: Resolved: hate crime enhancements are unjust in the United States. Our students developed cases both for and against that resolution; over the course of three rounds they argued each case at least once. The team of eleventh-grader Phillip Chaffee and ninth-grader Brendan Donnelly won third place in the varsity division, while all of our teams learned a great deal from their experience. Ninth-grader Rachael Simmons said, "Debating other schools gives me chances to debate others that I do not know. I don't know what their arguments are going to be, so it gives me a chance to be able to think more on my feet."
One highlight of the preparation period for the hate crimes debate was a special lecture from a lawyer, Mr. Ted Hoppe, Esq., who briefed the ninth-graders about how hate crime legislation came about, how it has been applied in recent cases, and the relevant Constitutional principles.
Our next opportunity for outside competition came on April 16, when six teams represented Tall Oaks at Sanford School in Hockessin, Delaware, debating: Resolved: capital punishment is unjust in the United States. In a field of ten teams, three Tall Oaks teams won all of their debates, so the team points (awarded by judges) determined the winners. Ninth-graders Sabrina Myoda and Jaime Weber won first place, while ninth-graders Sarah Chaffee and Christina Mentzer tied with eleventh-grader Joshua Yoon, Phillip Chaffee, and tenth-grader Colin Bryan for second. Ninth-graders Josh Franck and Brendan Donnelly placed third.
Having two debates almost two months apart gave the students an opportunity to see their skills grow. Jaime Weber reflects, "We can measure our own debating skills by comparing ourselves to our opponents. After our debate at Sanford, I appreciated the excellent training we have been given in class at Tall Oaks. The debate tournament contributed to our confidence as public speakers to any audience."
Brendan Donnelly notes another benefit of debate competitions with other schools: "My favorite thing about debating another school was that we received the opportunity to debate against those who hold different worldviews, and to see how the definitions of justice and murder would play out." Christina Mentzer adds, "At both Rockbridge and Sanford, there was a challenge to uphold our Christian faith and have a poised and professional manner." The feedback from the judges and parents who observed indicates that our students are meeting that challenge.
Congratulations to the CLASS OF 2011 –
Here is a listing of their TOTAL SCHOLARSHIPS OFFERED
(Over 4 Years)
Emery Bauman: $52,000 (The King's College)*
Brian Davison: $134,000 (Grove City College*, King's College, PBU and Geneva)
Shannon Groth: $64,000 (University of Delaware* and The King's College)
Karen Shaw: $88,000 (University of Delaware* and Stevenson University)
Kelly Weber: $118,000 (Belhaven University* and Towson University) + $1,000 Chrysostom Award + $250 VFW
Juliann Welch: Full Two-Year Scholarship (Delaware Technical and Community College)*
Nathan Williams: $48,000 (Florida A & M University and Rutgers University*)
Jennifer Ziegler: $220,000 (University of Delaware,* Philadelphia University, University of Scranton, The King's College)
*School student plans to attend.
National History Day
On March 17, 2011, the Western Civilization II and U.S. History classes participated in an in-school National History Day competition. Students completed exhibits, websites, or paper projects on various historical topics related to this year's theme: "Debate and Diplomacy: Successes, Failures and Compromises." Judges came from the Delaware Historical Society to evaluate student work.
Students studied the emergence and cultural effect of jazz music, military debate and diplomacy during the Peloponnesian War, the debate over civil rights and liberties in American society, and the debate over teaching evolution or intelligent design in public schools.
The purpose of the National History Day projects was to encourage students to understand the historical significance of a particular event, person, or idea by researching primary sources, interpreting and analyzing a wide variety of such sources, developing a thesis, and presenting in a compelling and creative manner. This was a wonderful opportunity for Tall Oaks students to take basic facts (Grammar), relate logically (Dialectic), and express beautifully from a biblical worldview (Rhetoric).
The following students went on to compete with several other schools in the Delaware state-wide National History Day competition on April 9: Audra Baumann, Ase Chioma, Sarah Chaffee, Abigail Pfenninger, Jaime Weber, and Valerie Ziegler.
Congratulations to Lydia Stinson and Kassiya Yaravoy for competing at the Del-Tech 16th Annual Science Expo! Lydia placed 2nd in the Health category with her project entitled ―Singing and Lung Capacity.‖ Kassiya placed 3rd in the Health category with her project entitled "Will Caffeine Increase Heart Rate?"
CONGRATULATIONS to sixth grade student, James Donnelly who won 1st place in the Daughters of the American Revolution American History Essay Contest, not only at the local Cooches' Bridge Chapter level, but also at the Delaware state level. He was awarded a certificate, medal, and cash award on March 20th at the Wilmington Country Club and was honored again in Dover on May 8th, 2010, James' essay chronicled the completion of the Transcontinential Railroad through the eyes of an Irish immigrant.
CONGRATULATIONS to fifth grade student, Kana Turley who won 1st place in the American Mothers 2010 National 5th
Grade Essay Contest, “What My Mother Means to Me”.
Kana wrote:
"My mother is the lighthouse in the sea of my life. Lovingly, she does two things that really touch me deep down. Every day she works for my needs, and she teaches me. My mother takes care of me daily. When I fall ill, she makes sure the treatment required is presented to me. She helps me grow in strength and wisdom. My mother is my top teacher. When I fall victim to bad ideas, she disciplines me out of love. When I waver from the right path, she corrects me and sets me straight. Often, she reminds me to follow the deeds that the Holy One requires of me. Working for my needs and teaching me is how my mother directs my safe passage through life. She is a bright light before my feet, and I love her.
Congratulations to 10th graders Phillip Chaffee and Lydia Stinson - On April 24, 2010, students from the Tall Oaks
Speech and Debate Team competed in a Delaware Speech League Tournament at
Conrad Schools of Science in Newport, DE. The competition also included
students from Conrad, Cab Calloway School of the Arts, and Sanford School. Congratulations to 10th graders Phillip Chaffee and Lydia Stinson; Phillip won 2nd place in
Extemporaneous Speech and 3rd place in the Social Studies Trivia Competition, while Lydia won 3rd
place in Memorized Poetry and Honorable Mention in the Social Studies Trivia Competition.