Speech and Debate

Speech and Debate tournament comes to Newbury Park

Manas Khatore Entertainment Editor

NPHS Speech and Debate is a team that regularly competes and wins in tournaments across the Tri-County Forensics League. On Nov. 23, NPHS hosted a speech and debate tournament for the fi rst time in several years. Th e event was attended by participants from over a dozen schools across the Los Angeles, Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo and Ventura counties. David Cho, sophomore, believes that part of the reason NPHS hosted a tournament is due to club improvements. “We’ve gotten a lot more organized this year and we have regular meetings on Tuesdays at around 3:00,” Cho said. He explains that the specifi c event that NPHS held is called Congress, which mirrors its real-life counterpart. “You basically pretend to be a senator trying to pass a bill… there’s usually three rounds where you compete against diff erent people and at the end of the day there’s awards.” Katie O’Neill, adviser, has been involved with speech and debate for the last four years. However, this is the fi rst tournament that NPHS has hosted under her leadership. “We had to fi gure out what would be a manageable thing for us to do our fi rst time… so we picked a smaller event called Congress to host,” O’Neill said. As a result, she has faced several challenges in the planning process, notably getting rooms to use for the event. “I’m really trying to make sure that… we’re kind of making the teachers feel respected,” O’Neill said. Benito Canepa, sophomore, was a part of the planning process for the tournament. He states that a major focus was providing enough food for the competitors. “Th ere was the snack food that didn’t need to be cooked at all… we (also) had nachos and hot dogs and popcorn,” Canepa said. Since they were in charge of setting up and cleaning up aft er the competitors, the NPHS team had long hours on the day of the tournament. “(We started) about 6:30 (in the morning) until around four,” Canepa said. Overall, the tournament was a success for NPHS Speech and Debate and has given them motivation to host more in the future. Th e team also hopes to gain more recruitment within the next couple of years to keep its momentum going. “Th e kids really do love what they’re doing so it’s spreading to people who see them succeeding and loving what they’re doing… Anybody’s always welcome,” O’Neill said.

Chip in - Morgan Bendoni, sophomore at Valley International Preparatory High School, purchases food at the speech and debate tournament on Nov. 23 at NPHS. This was the fi rst time NP has hosted in several years. “At the tournament there’s usually three rounds where you compete against different people or if you’re doing events then a different group of people each time and then at the end of the day there’s awards,” said David Chow, sophomore. Jessica Zhou/Prowler

LEAP tea party brings students together

Abby Gorman Staff Writer

Th e LEAP Program’s Jungle Tea is an opportunity for students, their families, and staff to come together for an event to share food that is prepared and served by the students in the special education program. Anne Alvarez, a special education teacher on campus, is the coordinator of this event and has been involved with the program for the past twelve years. “Our tea is an annual event where our students decide to treat the staff on campus to a tea,” Alvarez said. “We set up the room so that it looks like you’re walking into a restaurant,. . . make all the food, serve all the people, and clean up.” All of the students, including Wendy Carillo, senior, have dedicated their time to prepare for the event by sending out invitations, planning the menu and decorating the classroom according to the theme. “We take our time and try to do it perfect,” Carillo said. Th e activity was created for these students to have the opportunity to actively participate in the planning of an event and make it their own, as well as to spend time with their friends and family. “Th e idea is to teach the students how to host an event,” Alvarez said. “We really want it to be their event, so we let them pick out everything.” Th e event is certainly memorable and looked forward to by the students every year, including Austin Moncourtois, sophomore. “My favorite part of this event is getting to serve food, hang out with all my friends and with all my family and all the good food,” Moncourtois said. Most importantly, Alvarez hopes her students have a positive takeaway from participating in this event. “Th ey learn how to take an idea and put it into action,” Alvarez said. “It’s a lot of work, but so worth it.”