After a three year absence, forensics is back at Clarkston Schools. In true Clarkston fashion, the first outing for the team proved successful, with the Clarkston Junior High Team bringing home three trophies, two plaques, six blue ribbons and three Certificates of Merit for Excellence.
Forensics had a brief stint in Clarkston three years ago at Clarkston Middle School. Founded and coached by George Schreiber, the club lasted a year before scheduling conflicts prevented Schreiber from being available to coach.
‘No teacher would pick it up,? Schreiber said. ‘That really surprised me because I would bet 50 percent of the teachers in here have done forensics at one time or another, but that’s the way it was.?
Now, the club is back and flourishing ? with 24 students actively participating. Schreiber and language teacher Carianne Wargowski meet with students on Mondays and Wednesdays after school.
Ten of those students represented their school at the Michigan Interscholastic Forensic Association’s Middle Level Individual Events Tournament on Jan. 7. As one of 30 schools participating, the CJHS team showed their skills, with each participant bringing home an award of some fashion.
‘We’re pretty happy about that,? said Schreiber. ‘As a general rule, I thought this group was better prepared than our prior team. Part of that of course was the fact that when we had our prior team, I didn’t know what I was doing. I was brand new.?
Chelsea Rawe won a fourth place trophy for Impromptu Speaking; Meghna Dhir and Michelle Lee won trophies for fourth place in Informative Speaking; Erica Zentner and Morgan Brisse won plaques for Oratory; Matt Cross and Hillary Hacker won blue ribbons for winning a round of prose competition; Allie Browe and Julia Turner won Certificates of Merit for Excellence for Impromptu Speaking; and Matthew Deitz won a Certificate of Merit for Excellence for Informative Speaking.
‘When their parents got to see what they were doing, they were shocked, overwhelmed and proud,? Schreiber said.
Hacker, who also participants in the drama club, said she wasn’t nervous even though this was her first competition. However, she did say it was hard to know what the judges were looking for.
‘The first judge said that I moved around too much when I was doing my reading, the second judge said I did really, really good and the third judge said I didn’t move around enough,? Hacker said.
Informative and oratory speakers had several weeks to prepare their presentations, while impromptu speakers had only a minute to prepare a 2-4 minute speech. Topics varied greatly, from ‘What would you do if someone you knew stole or cheated?? to ‘Can a woman propose to a man?? for impromptu speakers. Oratory prepared arguments on topics such as religion in government and stem cell research, while prose speakers chose pieces of literature to read.
The team’s return to competition after three years came just in time for some previous members to rejoin. Allie Browe and Morgan Brisse were team members three years ago in sixth grade, and signed back up when the club returned.
‘It’s something that stays with you to use in the future and it’s just a lot of fun,? Brisse said.
Overall, participating students said the experience was a good one and they are planning to attend the next competition in April. In addition, Schreiber is hoping to expand the program into other buildings in the future, either moving up to the high school level or starting a feeder program at Sashabaw Middle School.
The club is always looking for more participates. Anyone interested in joining can contact Schreiber at 248-625-5600 or 248-625-7943.