WAAP! My Presidential Goals
September 3, 2010
Last Friday I had the opportunity to not only watch, but to run with two very good friends of mine, in the ARC presidential race. You know when somebody is truly in God’s Will when they are completely at peace with the outcome, regardless of whether or not it came out in their favor. I saw this in my fellow competitors, as we sat in the lobby and waited for the votes to settle.
Kathryn and David: thank you guys so much for your Christ centered attitudes in the race. I look forward to working with ya’ll in the future and I can’t wait to see what God is going to do through both of you in this upcoming year. This is just the beginning! On Friday night I laid out my goals and vision in my presidential speech. I wanted to reiterate them here for those of you who may have missed it and want to know what I’m about.
Worship, Attitude, Action and Prayer. A short and sweet way to remember it is WAAP! (These are not in order of importance) These will compose the core of my vision for this upcoming year, and here is how I plan to carry them out…
- Worship: Exd 15:2 “The Lord is my strength and my song; he has become my salvation. He is my God, and I will praise him, my father’s God, and I will exalt him.”
We will start every meeting with worship.
- Attitude: Phl 2:1 “If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:”
How am I going to implement a Christ like attitude in this club? I cannot force a mindset on someone and I am not going to. What I can do however, is set the example by having a Christ centered attitude myself, and encourage others to do the same. This is what I am going to do and if you don’t see me living this out, you have my permission to WAAP me!
- Action: Rom 12:1 “Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God-this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is-his good, pleasing and perfect will.”
Lukewarm Christianity is not an option for me or this club. The Specific Actions are, making a prayer wall at every tournament, participating in community activities, (for example, the pro-life speech contest we had last year, the service day at Camp of the Hill’s children’s camp, the Travis County Healthcare District committee meeting, The Texas Rally for life and others, should they become available.) Conducting worship nights at the tournaments, and pursue Christ centered attitudes.
- Prayer: Jam 5:16 “Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.” Phl 4:6 “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.”
Our chaplains will pray before every meeting, meal and at the start of every day of a tournament.
Those are my goals.
This is my vision:
Titus 2:7 “In everything set them an example by doing what is good. In your teaching show integrity, seriousness and soundness of speech that cannot be condemned, so that those who oppose you may be ashamed because they have nothing bad to say about us.”
Hebrews 10:24 “And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another-and all the more as you see the Day approaching.”
Love you guys. God Bless,
~Nathan
NCFCA Affiliate Registration 2010-2011
August 11, 2010
To take part in official NCFCA tournaments, your family will need to register as NCFCA affiliates. This is a one-time fee per season, and covers any number of competitors in your family.
Affiliate Registration Fees:
Before September 15th: $30
September 15-December 31: $40
After December 31: $50
For details regarding affiliation, check the NCFCA website.
ARC Parent Expectations
August 11, 2010
As you and your family take your first step into the Austin Rhetoric Club or come back for another year, keep in mind that while ARC is student-led, parents play a vitally important role in everything that goes on. Whether it’s coaching, teaching, or just encouraging, always stay involved with your student and the club.
Be active
Be your child’s best encourager, supporter, and provider of exhortation (i.e. “coach”)
Commit to coming to ARC meetings and encouraging others
Stay current with all email updates
Take your speakers to at least 2 official tournaments
Be open to activities outside of club time (brainstorming sessions, etc)
Remind your student to keep God first
Practice Christian apologetics
Nationals 2010: ARC Results
August 11, 2010
God blessed our 2009-2010 season immensely! Several ARCers had the privilege of competing at the National competition in June. Here are the final results:
Sweepstakes
14th Beth Maisano
Apologetics
2nd Beth Maisano
Original Oratory
14th Nathan Exley
Persuasive
9th Beth Maisano
14th Christina Hastings
Thematic
12th Daniel Gaskell
Lincoln Douglas
7th Anna MacDonald
11th Kathryn Clarkson
Lincoln Douglas Speaker
13th Avery Lill
18th Kathryn Clarkson
Team Policy
4th Snodgrass/Strack
23rd Maisano/Morgan
24th Lill/Upham
Well Represented At Regionals ‘10
April 23, 2010
Qualifiers to the Region IV invitational (which will be hosted here in Austin, May 5-8th) have been announced on the NCFCA website. A couple of our students have even qualified straight to the national competition. ARC has done very well, so let’s take a moment to celebrate how God has blessed this club, especially those who are going to their first Regionals…
Speech: Limited Preparation
Limited Prep events involves giving a speech on the fly with little preparation on a topic you probably weren’t expecting. 14 ARCers qualified over all three events in this category! This includes eleven who qualified in our signature event, Apologetics, where students learn how to defend and explain their faith on the fly.
To find out more about Limited Prep, check out our page.
Apologetics
Daniel Gaskell
Kathryn Grace Clarkson
Avery Lill
Anna Macdonald (First Time!)
Joshua Upham
Marshall Yaklin
Beth Maisano
Ben Snodgrass
Christina Hastings
Alex Billups (First Time!)
David Huber
Impromptu
Kathryn Grace Clarkson
Avery Lill
Ben Snodgrass
Daniel Gaskell
Christina Hastings
Willliam Umstattd (First Time!)
Extemporaneous
Ben Billups
Daniel Gaskell
Platform Speeches
A “platform speech” is usually what you think of when you hear “speech.” Students in this event persuade and inform their listeners in a conversational manor. Unlike in limited prep, the speakers must script their speech and have 10 minutes to make a difference!
Eight ARCers are competing in Platform speeches at the Regional Qualifier. Congratulations!
Original Oratory
Nathan Exley
Ben Billups (First time!)
Beth Maisano
Jonathan Morgan
Grace Einkauf
Marshall Yaklin
David Huber
Persuasive
Christina Hastings
Beth Maisano
Marshall Yaklin
Interpretation
Interpretation is a lot of fun. It’s like acting without props… in a suit. In these interpretive events, Austin Rhetoric Club Members take a piece of literature and interpret it using their body and voice, but without using any props. That even includes the floor and (in Duo) even the your interpretation partner!
14 students made in various interpretation categories. Way to go!
Thematic Interp
Paul Exley
Katie Morgan (First Time!)
Daniel Gaskell (Nationally Qualified!)
Alex MacDonald
Duo Interp
Exley/ Exley
Huber/ Huber (First Time!)
Morgan/ Morgan
Macdonald/ Macdonald
Hastings/Snodgrass
Dramatic Interp
Nathan Exley
Anna Macdonald (First Time!)
Grace Einkauf
Jonathan Morgan
Christina Hastings
Kathryn Grace C
Humorous Interp
Grace Einkauf
Marshall Yaklin
Nathan Exley
Kathryn Grace C
Paul Exley
Daniel Gaskell
Debate
Debate differs from speech in that it involves not only communicating and persuading, but also responding to objections. Throughout the tournament, students learn to present both sides of an important issue. In Team Policy, they also learn valuable teamwork skills with their partner.
Note: First time means that at least one of the members of the team is going in debate for the first time.
Team Policy
Gaskell/MacDonald
Billups/Billups
Maisano/Morgan (First Time!)
Clarkson/Exley (First Time!)
Lill/Upham (First Time!)
Snodgrass/Strack
Exley/Yaklin
Adkisson/Simmons (First Time!)
Harris/Snodgrass (??? – yeah, we’ll claim ‘em)
Lincoln Douglas
Kathryn Clarkson
Christina Hastings
David Huber (First Time!)
Avery Lill (going to Nationals!)
Anna MacDonald (First Time!)
Katy Maisano (First Time!)
What’s Important
More import than winning awards or recognition is the future. What are you going to do with these speeches and skills? At the Austin Rhetoric Club, we’re not training speakers who just show up at tournaments, but speakers who take the skills they’ve learned out into the world and shine their light Matthew 5:16 style!
If you would like to help train the christian leaders of tomorrow, please sign up to help judge at the Region IV Tournament in Austin.
Film News
November 18, 2009
Hi everyone,
From all the reports I’ve heard about the New Braunfels Round Robin it sounds like ARC was very well represented and did a fantastic job. Kudos to President Ben Snodgrass, the ARC officers, coaches, parents, and the whole club for your leadership, participation, and cooperation on Saturday.
I just wanted to make a quick announcement that a music video called “Forever” that was created in September with the help of several ARCers was accepted into the Young Christian Filmmaker’s Festival in Bryan, TX and will be shown this Saturday, November 21st.
Attendance is free and all are encouraged to come, participate, and learn. The festival will be held from 10:00 – noon at the address below:
First Baptist Church
3100 Cambridge Dr.
Bryan, TX 77802-4613
If you haven’t seen “Forever” online yet then you can watch it here. You’ll see some familiar names listed below the video.
If you have further questions just email me or give me a call. One last note, the latest project made with Alex Lerma was uploaded yesterday. You can watch it here.
Thanks,
Paul
2009-2010 Officers
September 20, 2009
Congratulations to ARC’s officers for the 2009-20210 season! Results of the September 18th elections are as follows:
Vice President: Kathryn Clarkson
Secretary: Alex Macdonald
Treasurer: David Huber
Librarian: Anna Macdonald
Male Chaplain: Nathan Exley
Female Chaplain: Avery Lill
Evidence Ringmaster (TP): Daniel Gaskell
Evidence Ringmaster (LD): Christina Hastings
Cameraman: Ben Billups
Camerawoman: Rachel Perry
Webmaster: Beth Maisano
Sergeant at Arms: Jonathan Morgan and William Umstattd
Main St. Bethlehem Christmas Party
November 20, 2008
Yes, it’s that time of the year again. It’s time to announce the 3rd
annual ARC Christmas party/Main St. Bethlehem visit!
Where: The Maisano’s house (120 Circle Oak Drive, Burnet, 78611,
directions will be available)
When: Sunday, December 14th, 4:30-7:30pm for food and fellowship, and
then we’ll head on over to Main St. Bethlehem
Why: Because it’s quickly becoming an ARC tradition 
. And it’s a
whole lot of fun!
RSVP by December 10th.
Main St. Bethlehem is a very well done recreation of the town of
Bethlehem on the night of Jesus’ birth. It is put on by a church in
Burnet, and every year thousands of people come to visit. It’s
definitely a Maisano highlight of the Christmas season. If you’ve
never been before, you don’t want to miss it!
Bring one appetizer/main dish and one dessert item (preferably finger
foods to make everything simpler).
We will also be having a gift exchange for whoever (this includes
EVERYONE–adults and kids alike!) is interested in participating. The
cost limit is $3, or you can just bring something from your own
closet/drawer/garage/etc. Have fun with it!
ARC debaters: We will hopefully be meeting one hour earlier for a
debriefing session regarding the Brenham tournament on the 11th, so
plan to come around 3:30.
We look forward to seeing you there!
God bless,
Toni
Summary of New Braunfels Tournament
October 20, 2008
Howdy all! ok, so, hot off the press, here’s some info on the last debate tournament in New Braunfels.
Who: ARC, HCC, and STAR debate clubs all participated. I’m not sure if there where any more.
When: It was on Saturday earlier in the morning at around 9 am to about 5 pm.
Where: New Braunfels
What happened: We came, we saw, we debated. It was a smaller tournament, no more than 16 debate teams. There where 4 rounds of Team Policy debate, and also there was an impromptu round. They did not tab the events.
It was a TON of fun and i would like to thank everyone who participated for making it an exciting, uplifting, and educational experience for all!! I hope to see everyone at the tournaments and round robins to come!
-Your President,
Ben
1Cor 13:11
Economics Workshop this Friday
October 2, 2008
Hello everyone!
This is a reminder about our coming economics workshop put on by Greg Rehmke this Friday from 1:30-8:30. Mr. Rehmke does extensive research each year pertaining to the NCFCA debate topics coming from the perspective of economics. In the past, we’ve covered the historical background of the topic, current events, and even some case ideas.
Why should I come? Because cool people are coming. Okay, so there’s better reasons to come. If you are at all interested in debating this coming year (which I hope most of you are), this workshop will give you some great background knowledge and also a broad understanding of current events surrounding India. And if you’re not planning on debating, come anyway! You can still learn a lot!
When and where is it? This coming Friday, Oct. 3rd, 1:30-8:30 pm at Hope Chapel.
How much does it cost? For students ages 12-18, $20 for the first student and $10 for each additional student. Parents are free (cool!). For paying students, dinner will be included in the cost, so if parents or younger siblings would like to be included in the dinner plans you can order that as well at the workshop.
So there you have it folks. I’ve personally attended these workshops for the past few years and it’s been fascinating learning in greater detail about the debate topics. I highly recommend that you try to come if at all possible, and look forward to seeing you there! If you have any questions feel free to email me at speakingmusically@gmail.com or another officer or coach, and we’d be happy to help.
God bless,
Toni