The recent cold front that blew through the Waco area has left no doubt in anyone’s mind - we are officially experiencing fall weather. It’s time to break out the jackets and get some soup cooking on the stovetop; it doesn’t feel much like a Texas summer anymore. For some groups at CHS, however, the warm weather lasted a bit longer than it did for the rest of us.
Members of the AFJROTC and speech/debate teams took separate trips to Corpus Christi in recent weeks and were able to cling to the last bit of heat. The trips were a part of the ROTC’s annual trip to see the USS Lexington and the debate team’s competition at the Mary Carroll High School Invitational Meet.
“Part of the curriculum in our courses is to engage in curriculum in action activities,” ROTC instructor Master Sergeant John Christian said. “This trip provides us such a chance to do so. Our unit has been going for several years - long before I joined the team. It’s a great recruiting tool for our program and represents one of the best learning opportunities we can give our kids.”
While aboard the Lexington, the students got to eat in the dining hall, tour the various museum exhibits, and see some of the “behind the scenes” elements of how air carriers work and operate.
“This trip was cool because you got to have a totally immersive experience,” senior Margaret Stout said. “The scavenger hunt provided us with a chance to explore and familiarize ourselves with the carrier and have a more hands-on learning experience than simply listening to a lecture.”
In addition to all of the learning opportunities on the trip, students were also given the chance to engage in team building activities with one another.
“Going on trips with people gives you the chance to learn how to better work with each other,” sophomore Trenton Nemec said. “Participating in activities like the scavenger hunt gave me the opportunity to see the strengths and weaknesses of my teammates and figure out ways to better work with them.”
Following the ROTC trip to Corpus Christi, Connally students returned yet again on October 27 as members of the CHS speech and debate team arrived to compete at the Mary Carroll High School Invitational Tournament.
“Having the opportunity to travel to a meet that was so far away gave our students a sense of comfort because regardless of whatever the results ended up being they wouldn’t face the pressure of seeing their opponents again,” CHS speech/debate coach and UIL Coordinator Harley Gervais said. “We were able to work hard and gain experience in a totally different environment. Our students couldn’t operate with any preconceived notions because they didn’t know anyone that they were competing against.”
This particular meet served as an invitational qualifying tournament for the Texas Forensic Association. The TFA is a group that sponsors a separate state competition for some of the strongest programs in the state and does not separate teams based on their size, geographic location, or public/private status.
“TFA tournaments often have a stronger caliber of competition than other invitational meets,” CISD Director of UIL Academics Michael Donaldson said. “It can be intimidating for students to face opponents from such prestigious programs, but it certainly makes them better. Being tested by fire like this helps our students prepare for the tough rounds that we will face at the UIL district competition later on this year.”
The six students that attended the tournament all competed in Policy Debate, an event that pits teams of two students against one another while debating issues of policy making. Throughout the meet, they faced opponents from Three Rivers, Sharyland, and W.B. Ray High Schools.
“Policy debate gives you the chance to work with a partner to execute the best strategies to win the round,” senior Knicholas Taylor said. “Traveling so far away to compete was a little nerve-racking at first, but once I got an understanding of what was going on, I calmed down. Once we caught our stride and started winning, it felt like a dream.”
After the preliminary rounds of competition, the duo of Knicholas Taylor and Keshona Lowe advanced to the semifinal round of debate with a record of two wins and one loss. They lost that round to a strong team from Three Rivers High School that ended up winning the meet. Their third place finish represents the first time that Connally has ever had students place at a TFA tournament.
“This whole experience was so great,” junior Keshona Lowe said. “It was a pure adrenaline rush. My family was so proud of me to have found success at my first real tournament.”
On their way home from the meet, the team took a quick opportunity to stop by the Texas State Aquarium for team building and memory making.
“Every part of this trip was such a great bonding experience for the team,” junior Israel “Friend” Pena said. “This was my first time going to the aquarium and it was so much fun. We got excited at every single exhibit. I nearly lost my mind when we saw the otters.”
As the school year continues, Connally High School remains committed to providing unique experiences for students to represent our community throughout the state.
“Any opportunity that we have to give our students the opportunity to see new places and gain new experiences through hands-on learning is a worthwhile one,” CHS Principal Hermann Pereira said. “We have some of the very best students and teachers in the state, and we will continue to show them off as often as possible.”