News / Calendar

Comments and questions may be addressed to the Executive Director.

• Memberships for the 2008-2009 school year are now being accepted
   Incentive Deadline for Registration (10% Discount on 1st Materials Order:  October 1, 2008)
   Deadline for Regular Registration (no bonus or penalty):  November 1, 2008
   Penalty Deadline (extra $25 charge) for Late Registration:  December 15, 2008

• Membership Invitation Mailing DID NOT go out to all Texas private schools this year, so it is important to download PDFs from this website and submit them with a purchase order number or check. Be sure to indicate your preference of which district number in which your school wishes to compete when you submit your two-page Membership/Participation Form.

• A Calendar of Events will be posted in this section as dates are provided for 2008-2009 PSIA Activities.

2009 STATE MEET DATES:  (dates are firm / locations will be firm in November)
"AA" = Saturday, April 25, 2009 at TCU in Fort Worth (tentative)
  "A" = Saturday, May 2, 2009 at TCU in Fort Worth (tentative)
One-Act Play = Saturday, May 9, 2009 at Saint Mary's Hall, San Antonio

SUMMER /FALL WORKSHOPS - 2008: New rules presentation, program updates, clarifications, ideas sharing, breakfast, lunch, valuable door prizes, plus a special One-Act Play and Speech workshop for Directors, Coaches, and Contest Managers will be offered this year.
Saturday, August 16:  All Saints, Lubbock (9:30 to 2:00)
Saturday, August 23: The Woodlands Preparatory School, Spring (9:30 to 2:00)
Saturday, September 6:  St. James, Seguin (9:30 to 2:00)
Saturday, September 13: Bannockburn School, Austin (9:30 to 2:00)
Saturday, September 20: The Highlands School, Irving (9:30 to 2:00)
Saturday, September 27: Oratory School, Pharr (9:30 to 2:00)
Saturday, October 4:  TK Gorman, Tyler (9:30 to 2:00)

A registration form will be posted on this website as soon as the other two workshop dates are confirmed.
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PSIA State Advisory Board
MINUTES
Saturday, June 7, 2008

The PSIA State Advisory Board met in regular session on Saturday, June 7, 2008, at the PSIA state office and home of Bruce and Patricia Walters, 508 Alamo Trail, Grapevine, Texas.  Our gratitude to the 18 representatives from the 22 PSIA districts throughout the state who were present for this important decision-making meeting:  District 1AA-Pat Dulac and Barbara Malin– St. Monica Catholic School, Dallas and Laurie Nuchereno – St. Rita, Dallas; District 2AA-Misty Baptiste – Liberty Christian School, Argyle; District 1A & 2A- Elaine Schad – Immaculate Conception Catholic School, Denton; District 3A- Carolyn Koslan – Immanuel Lutheran School, Giddings; District 4 – Lisa Breedlove – Bishop T.K. Gorman, Tyler; District 8A-Sarah Ann Will– Bannockburn School, Austin; District 8AA-Lisa Jahnke and Liz Landfried – Redeemer Lutheran School, Austin; District 9A and State Assistants to the Director- Kyle and Jennifer Marg – Saints Peter and Paul Catholic School, New Braunfels; District 9AA-Bitsty Mayberry – Saint Mary’s Hall, San Antonio; District 10A-Becky Sebastian – Holy Spirit, Houston; District 10AA-Phyllis LaBure – All Saints, Beaumont; District 11A- Tom McClung – Brazos Christian School, Bryan; and Bruce and Pat Walters-State PSIA Directors, Grapevine.

Following the luncheon, Bruce Walters provided statistics regarding the soundness of PSIA finances and projections for moderate growth for next year. 

Discussion items and decisions resulting from this advisory board meeting follow.

Organization Issues

1.   INCREASE MEMBERSHIP ENROLLMENT LIMITS for “A” to 27 average per grade or total of 216 in grades 1-8
Rationale:  The “AA” classification had approximately 200 more students advance to State than the “A” classification.  Several “A” schools are currently competing in “AA” as a result of either being located in a more remote area of the state that only offered “AA,” or the district in which they would have competed was already full when they registered.  We expect the increased enrollment cut-off for “A” will enable more participation in the this smaller group, thereby better equalizing the number of entries advancing to the state level of competition.
2.  INCREASE HOMESCHOOL STATE PARTICIPATION FEES FROM $10 TO $15.  Rationale:  The individual home school receives the same amount of materials and instruction for one student as a campus of 500 receives for $25.  This measure is intended to provide more equity in the fee structure.
3.  STUDY MATERIALS ORDER FORM:  REVISE OCTOBER 1 INCENTIVE as follows:  “Member ONLY 10% Discount on First Order submitted with Check or school Purchase Order by Oct. 1”
4.  ADD 2008 District and State Listening Passage CDs to the Study Materials Order Form (Price:  $7.50 each)
5.   DISTRICT ALIGNMENT-minimum 6 schools, or equivalent (previously 7 schools per district minimum)
Rationale:  Overcrowding at the district level when 7 or more schools have full participation.
6.   CONFLICT PATTERN CHANGES:
    a.   Move 4-8 Math from 9:00 to 10:00/
    b.   Move Calculator 10:00 to 9:00
    c.   Move On-Site Drawing from 9:00 to 8:00
    d.   Move Spelling from 1:30 to 11:00
    Rationale:  Placing contests, Calculator and Spelling, at an earlier time slot provides more time for scoring.  Placing On-Site Drawing during the first hour frees students to participate in Ready Writing.  Students may also participate in Prose/Poetry Interpretation with an early speaking arrangement.
7.   NUMBER OF ENTRIES IN CONTESTS:
    a.  Optionally, districts may limit entries at each grade level in Storytelling to only 2, instead of 3
Rationale:  As the program grows in numbers of entries, the need to limit entries at the younger grade levels may be necessary in order to provide adequate rooms for these speech sections.
           b.  Combine grade levels for Calculator Applications grades 7/8.
Rationale:  In seeking ways to reduce overcrowding and yet provide equal opportunities for all teams to earn champion team points, Calculator was reported to have fewer entries than most contests at the 7th and 8th grade levels.  The Math/Science block on the Conflict Pattern enables strong students in these areas to participate in every contest; whereas, the language arts block is non-existent. 
8.   ADDING CONTEST:
ADD a separate Maps, Graphs & Charts Contest for grades 4 and 5, and providing 25 additional test questions (total 75) for grades 6-8 from current National Geographic GeoBee Challenge Website and/or National Geographic Magazines dated within a few months of the contests (more detail to follow)  Rationale:  Provide greater challenge for grades 6-8.
9.  TRAINING VOLUNTEERS:  Add tips to the District Director Checklist on pages 3 and 4 of the Academic Handbook regarding making volunteer and paid selections early, seeking the most qualified people, and meeting with volunteers throughout the district to prepare for both the District and State Meet.  ADD a Volunteer Checklist to handbook after “Duties of the PSIA Campus Director.”
10.  ADDITIONS TO HANDBOOK OPENING PAGES:
    a.  Under “IMPORTANT State Meet Procedures” ADD:  “Speech judges pick up their packets for judging in the Tab Room.  All other judges and graders receive their grading/judging materials directly from the Contest Director in the rooms assigned.”      
      b.  DISQUALIFICATION STATEMENT ADDED to “Official Rules for All Participants” regarding the use of any electronic devices in any contest room before, during, or after student has completed the contest.
    c.  PUBLISHER PERMISSION:  Move statement regarding release of writings for publication into the “Official Rules for All Participants” section.
     d. DIRECTOR CHECKLISTS – ADD   
        • Contestants must not leave the contest room until time is up in
        the contest, unless a specific notation has been provided for
        • After Contest, collect all answer sheets, tests, and other papers
        • QUIET Verification Period
11.   ALLOW PROSE/POETRY CONTESTANT TO READ SELECTION, EVEN IF IT WILL BE DISQUALIFIED FOR INADEQUATE OR NO DOCUMENTATION.  Contest Director will take up documentation that is in question and inform the judges and contestant after the reading has been completed.
12.  SKIPPING PROCEDURE:  (proposed by Doug, but not discussed) ADD a box for placing an X for skipped answer items after each answer blank on objective tests.  Ex:  1.  ___B___   2.  ___C___ 
13.  NUMBER SENSE:  Standard BLUE ink pen does not have to be a ballpoint.
14.  ONE-ACT PLAY:  ADD MUSIC TIME LIMIT of 10 minutes to the One-Act Play Disqualifications List (Already within rules, but not on list)
15.  ONE-ACT PLAY PILOT HIGH SCHOOL CONTEST ADDED in Lubbock.  A limit of 6 high school plays may perform at this tournament.  See Area 2 information on the PSIA website.
16.  ON-SITE DRAWING:  ADD the words “FREE HAND STILL LIFE COMPOSITION” to “Nature of the Contest.”  Add verbage to prohibit rulers, contractors, or any mechanical drawing devices in this contest.  Emphasize that the composition should include all objects without any separately drawn, as the term “still life composition” would imply.
17.  ALL SPEECH CONTEST:  Emphasize that judging is to be done independently without input from other judges or the contest director, except in the case of a ruled disqualification in Prose/Poetry.  This is a PROSE year.  Restate “independent” judging on the judges’ ballot forms.
18.  READY WRITING:  ADD the words “AND NOTHING ELSE” to the list of items contestants may bring into the contest room for use in the contest.
19.  SCIENCE:  State specifically that NO CALCULATORS ARE ALLOWED in this contest.
20.  SPELLING:  Reconfigure grade levels for competition.  Separate lists as follows - Grades 2 & 3; Grades 4 & 5; and Grades 6-8
21.  STORYTELLING: Provide approximately 2 minutes wait time before having the first contestant retell the story.  Practice at the campus level limiting students to speaking fewer that 6 minutes.

OUTSIDE RESOURCE ADOPTION:
1.    Art Memory – Art Smart by Tune-In (second year of same resource)
2.    Atlas adoption for Maps Graphs & Charts (Nystrom Desk Atlas 2007 newer)
3.    Music Memory (recommend adoption- Arts Ed IDEAS materials)
4.    Dictionary adoption for Spelling, Dictionary Skills & Vocabulary
     (11th Edition Merriam Webster – any printing)