Saints Notes      January 28, 2010

It was an amazing trip - 1,400 miles round trip; 2 adults; 8 students; the #8 bus (which held up just fine); and 24 hours total on board the bus - I'm not ready to get back on for the ride today, but I will gladly make the trip with this group again.

We left after Chapel last Thursday at 10:35am EST and arrived in Seward at 9:25pm CST.  The weather was fine and temperatures warm enough that the rain didn't cause any problems.   Upon our arrival and moving into our Guest House on campus at Concordia, we thought it'd be nice to get a pizza.  However, in Seward, Nebraska the stores that could deliver a pizza closed before we could call.

Friday was our college visit day.  Each student met with the department chair and/or professors in their field of interest; we attended Chapel in the Weller Auditorium (a very neat experience); Lunch and Dinner with members of the Concordia Speech Team (great fun); a Campus Tour (it's cold when the wind is blowing, but a charming campus covered with about a foot of snow while we were there); we sat in on a Drama Class; and then met with the Concordia Forensics Coach Dr. Bryan Moore and his assistant Dustin Haider.

Dr. Moore and Mr. Haider were great - answering our questions and providing advice and suggestions on how we might improve how we do the things we do in competitive speaking.

After Friday's dinner, we watched everyone on the Saints team perform their piece, and this time we called in time for a pizza!  (If you are on a college campus, I believe you are obligated to order at least one (in our case two) pizza.)

Saturday morning was the Concordia Classic High School Speech Meet.  12 high school teams from Eastern and Central Nebraska and us from 700 miles east.  We brought eight students and had eight entries in the meet.

Nebraska rules are a little different than Indiana, so we had to juggle some of our events.  We had three competiting in Serious Prose Interpretation; two in Impromptu; two (naturally) in Duet Acting; one in Entertainment Speaking; and one in Poetry Intrepretation.  (If you are trying to add this up - one of the Serious Prose competitors was one half of the duet.)  Overall, the meet had just over 150 students in the competition.

The 'amazingness' (as one of my students would say) continued Saturday.  We placed seven entries in the finals.   Since I didn't need to judge a final round, I was able to watch our two finalists in Serious Prose and was thrilled to see and hear them deliver tremendous interpretations.  This was a high water mark for our speech program, in just its third year, we've grown from 4 to 6 to 11 students involved in the program, and to place such a high percentage in the finals is a great credit to the students - their talent and willingness to work on improving their craft.

As the awards ceremony began, I was excited to know that each of the seven had earned a trophy and would have something to show for their effort.  We didn't know in what place.  As the first award were announced, we weren't sixth - we weren't fifth - we weren't fourth... Katie Beverley earned a third in Impromptu and Zack Hayes took first in Impromptu!  In Entertainment Speaking, a category she took on because her normal Indiana category wasn't available, Samantha Young dusted off a selection worked on it for a couple days and earned a 6th place finish.  In Duet Acting, Kelsie Curtis was making her debut in Forensics along with one of our three year veterans Sarah Lewer and they finished 2nd.  In Poetry, Emma Jackson took 1st place.  In Serious Prose, our other charter member, Hanna Trusty finished 2nd as a runner-up to Sarah Lewer!

In Forensics meets, the top teams can receive a team trophy based on their overall results.  Because we have such a small team compared to other schools, it's never occured to me we might have a shot at one.  (Many Indiana High Schools, bring 30 to 40 students to a meet.)  So, it was a great surprise and a happy moment for the team when we were announced as the second place team overall!  (The top finished, Seward High School had 22 entries in the competition and placed 10 in the finals.)

We celebrated at Spaghetti Works in nearby Lincoln, then returned to prepare for the long, but happy drive home.

This next part is really the most amazing to me, I told the team that if we wanted to be in Indianapolis at 6p Sunday, we had to be on the bus at 5am Central time.  Uggh.  The team did it!  No complaints, no talking - everyone was up, was packed, and on board - we pulled out of the driveway at 5:05am (most were asleep again with minutes, but we were moving) and arrived back at Lutheran High at 6pm.

We thank God for a great adventure together!  I'd travel with these guys anytime!

A special thanks to Mrs. Styf, one of our English Teachers, who came along to help judge, show off her alma mater, and chaperone.