Grady High wins in mock trial, speech, debate and more

Grady High School beat Jonesboro High School to once again capture the Georgia Mock Trial Competition at the Gwinnett Justice and Administration Center in Lawrenceville over the weekend. Grady and Jonesboro made the finals after beating Macon’s Central High and Athens’ Clark Central, respectively, in the semifinals.

According to a press release from the Georgia Mock Trial group, this year’s state mock trial case presented a criminal problem, State of Georgia v. Clay/Claire Stafford. In the case, the defendant (Stafford) is accused of aggravated assault against a classmate during a graduation party. Teams have been working to perfect their presentations since the case was released on Nov. 16. The new national case that the Grady team will prepare for the tournament in May will be released on April 1.

Justice David Nahmias of the Georgia Supreme Court and Judge Melodie Clayton of Cobb County State Court presided over the final rounds that determined that Grady High will represent the state in the national tournament to be held May 5-9 in Philadelphia, Pa., the release said.

Teams are evaluated on their ability to make a logical, cohesive and persuasive presentation, rather than on the legal merits of the case, the release said. There are no verdicts handed down during mock trial competition rounds. The objective of the mock trial program is to further students’ understanding of court procedure and the legal system; to improve proficiency in basic skills such as listening, speaking, reading and reasoning; to promote better communication and cooperation between the educational and legal community; to provide a competitive event in an academic atmosphere; and to promote cooperation among you people of various abilities and interests.

The Grady team is coached by Brian Leahy, with assistance from attorney coaches Carl Gebo (Adorno & Yoss, LLP, Atlanta), Trinh Huynh (Alston & Bird, Atlanta), Cecily McLeod and Jay Patton. Team members: Abena Amoakuh, Jasmine Burnett, Kenny Cochran, Molly Daniel, Phillip Dickson, Ben Gittelson, Atiana Johnson, Nile Kendall, Nally Kinnane, Shaun Kleber, Troy Kleber, Miller Lansing, Elizabeth McGlamry, Caroline McKay, Jasmine Scott-Prince, Katherine Sherwood, Sam Weinstock, Jay Williams, and Alix Youngblood.

In other Grady debate and public speaking news …

DEBATE AND PUBLIC SPEAKING
The Bickle and Brewer Law Firm in New York City, in collaboration with the National Forensic League, offer a debate competition called the “International Public Policy Forum.” Essays are submitted and debates/wins are based upon those essays. There are a total of 5 rounds of competition judged by debate coaches, attorneys and leaders in the international community. The top four teams in the country are invited to New York to compete in actual debates. The team of Michael Barlow, Tyler Olson and Ashley Brown have advanced to the top 16 in this international competition! They are just two steps away from the Final Four to be debated in New York City. You can find Grady’s name, along with all teams from around the world, on the NFL website at: http://www.nflonline.org/Main/IPPFTop3209

Michael Robinson, Grady class of 2009, ranked 46th in the nation out of approximately 93,000 members in the National Forensic League. Mike was also named North District Debate Student. In June, 2009, Michael Robinson was selected as one of six finalists for the National Forensic League Student of the Year Award. With more than 30,000 graduating seniors in the NFL, this is one of the highest accolades a student in this honorary society can achieve.

Also, congratulations to Lisa Willoughby and the Grady High varsity policy debate squad for winning the GHSA State title for A/AA/AAA at the Marist School. The debaters (Michael Barlow, Holden Choi, Ngoc Vu and Ben Dean went undefeated at the tournament. These phenomenal debaters also broke a decades-old tradition of Pace Academy always winning the title.

The Speech and Debate Team, also known as “The Jesters,” competed at the Georgia Forensic Coaches Association State Championships recently at Evans High. This tournament is for championships in all speech and debate events except Varsity Policy Debate (which Grady also won. Here are the results:

Novice Lincoln-Douglas Debate: Co-Champions – Rachel Citrin and Tatiana Johnson
Varsity Lincoln-Douglas Debate: Champion – Lucas Bailey; Semi-finalist – Noah Johnson
Public Forum Debate: Runners-up – Tyler Olson and Ashley Brown
Prose/Poetry: Third Place – Jahra Gholston
Duo Interpretation: Second Place – Taylor Walker/Laura King; Third Place – Quameeha Grandiot/Lukas Olson; Fifth Place – Marius Jackson/Jahra Gholston
Original Oratory: Sixth Place – Laura King
Dramatic Interpretation: Champion – Taylor Walker
Impromptu Speaking: Champion – Micah Plott; Second Place – Daniel Gilstrap; Fourth Place – James Holland; Fifth Place – Leith Meador
Extemporaneous Speaking: Champion – Leith Meador; Second Place – Isabelle Taft; Fourth Place – Emily Atkinson; Fifth Place – Cole Bagley

The Jesters were named GFCA State Speech and Debate Champions!! Additionally, the following students have qualified for the Grand National Speech and Debate Tournament on Memorial Day weekend in Omaha, Neb.:

Lincoln-Douglas Debate: Stephanie Styles, Lucas Bailey and Noah Johnson
Dramatic Performance: Taylor Walker
Original Oratory: Willamae Boling
Duo Interpretation: Quameeha Grandoit/Lukas Olson and Marius Jackson/Jahra Gholston
Extemporaneous Speaking: Leith Meador, Isabelle Taft, James Holland and Cole Bagley
Declamation: Daniel Gilstrap
Policy Debate: Michael Barlow/Holden Choi
Prose/Poetry: Sarah Dillard
Public Forum Debate: Tyler Olson/Ashley Brown

The Jesters competed in the National Forensic League District Tournament. Students placing in the top two in their events qualify to attend the National Speech and Debate Tournament in Kansas City, Mo., in mid-June. The team won the Tournament Sweepstakes plaque and the Overall Sweepstakes trophy.

Policy Debate: Qualifiers – Michael Barlow and Holden Choi;  2nd alternates – Samantha Chiang and Ben Dean 
Public Forum Debate: Qualifiers – Ashley Brown and Tyler Olson; Qualifiers – J.P. Patterson and Greyson Blake
Lincoln-Douglas Debate: Qualifier – Stephanie Styles; Qualifier – Lucas Bailey; 1st alternate – Noah Johnson
International Extemporaneous Speaking: Qualifier – Isabelle Taft; Qualifier – Emily Atkinson; 1st alternate – Dylan Coyle; 2nd alternate – Mallory Akard
United States Extemporaneous Speaking: Qualifier – Leith Meador; Qualifier – James Holland; 1st alternate – Cole Bagley
Original Oratory: 2nd alternate – Laura King
Dramatic Interpretation: Qualifier – Taylor Walker; 2nd alternate – Patrick Heflin
Duo Interpretation: Qualifiers – Quameeha Grandoit and Lukas Olson; 1st alternates – Taylor Walker and Laura King

HEALTH SCIENCE
Grady HOSA’s Parliamentary Procedure team won first place in the region competition! Morgan Dalton, Akilah George, Courtney Lunn, Jonathan Patterson, Danielle Thrasher and Brianna Ukaonu qualify to compete at the State Leadership Conference and Competition in March. Grady’s HOSA Parliamentary Procedure team won 1st place at the HOSA State Leadership Conference. Not only did this team win a gold medal but they were also awarded a medal by the National Parliamentarian Association for the fine job that they did. The team consisted of Morgan Dalton, Akilah George, Courtney Lunn, Jonathan Patterson, Daniel Thrasher and Brianna Ukaonu. These students qualify to compete in the national competition this summer. Also, Reginald Hutchins was selected as state officer again this year as our State Vice President. Grady’s HOSA Emergency Disaster Preparedness team was a finalist earning fourth place in their category. These students were Rufus Huffman, Jamil Williams and Teron Williams. Olivia Cartwright was a finalist for Interviewing Skills and placed fifth in her category.