Monacan High School - Legend Yearbook (Richmond, VA)

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Aid to the cause. Using all he’s got plus more, Dave Tuskey takes the regional title after also taking the Central District title. Battle of the Brains Forensics 23

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Poise and Self-confidence Most students seem to have an innate fear of speaking in front of a group of people. And yet, teenagers feel no inse- curity about talking in class, in the halls, or on the phone for great lengths of time. However, when they are called on by teachers to present an ‘‘oral report,” knees start shaking and vocal chords seem to be totally ineffective. One way to overcome this burning fear is by joining the forensics team. At Monacan, as at other schools, the Proving a point. Practicing for a forensics meet, Lee Overstreet uses emphasis to persuade the judges to his point of view. a a 5 Be ath ily Y Forensics team. Ann Driscoll, Kevin Jones, Linda Beck, Lee Overstreet, Dave Tuskey, Cathy Vines. 22 Battle of the Brains Forensics forensics team specializes in public speaking. Students compete in a number of catagories including: spelling, original oratory, poetry, prose and others. Stu- dents compose speeches and learn the art of public speaking through practice and instruction. Monacan’s forensics team has been very successful. After many hours of hard work, the team captured the Central Dis- trict and Regional Championships. Four Monacan students — Cathy Vines, Linda Brains vs. Teachers. While practicing for the actual competition, the ‘‘Brains’’ dominate the teachers in a display of knowledge and trivia. tee Camera and nerve adjustments. Before competi- tion begins, the Brains wonder what the upcoming match with Douglas Freeman will be like. Beck, Dave Tuskey, and Alex Fisher pro- gressed to the State Competition held at U. Va. In addition to the skills already men- tioned, team coach Ms. Jackie Pender- graph explained, ‘‘that team members also improve their self- confidence and poise.’’ With hard work and excellent re- sults, the forensics team is another ex- ample of Monacan students establishing a tradition of success for the future. SP RE I EE a ET OD GS EELS EE SEE ESF Contemplating the answer. During competition, Danny Sloan (captain), C.K. Robertson, Tom Spivey, and David Markell listen intently to the question.

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Selecting a President During the Fall, the Monacan U.S. Gov- ernment and History classes had the rare opportunity to participate in a two week unit on the American political process. Held during late October as a tie-in with the Presidential election campaigns, the unit culminated in a four day long simulat- ed National Party Convention. As mem- bers of the American Party, students as- sumed the roles of delegates, candi- dates, speakers, committee members and Chairpersons with Government and History teachers acting as advisors, each period put together a convention with the students being in charge of orga- nizing every aspect found in a real politi- cal convention. During the first week of the unit three days were spent in an intensive lecture session dealing with American Political party history and the traditional differ- ee Hail to the President! Running for President, Steve Bonner speaks to voters on the promises he is going to make to our country. 24 Mock Election Convention ences between the Republican and Democratic parties. The next several days were spent in actual preparation for the various roles in the convention. The student conventions contained all the elements of real political conventions: floor debates, demonstrations, candi- dates’ speeches and roll call votes. Shouts of excitement when a candidate won or groans of exasperation by sup- porters of losing candidates, filled the Commons and Auditorium with sound. An- gry floor debate over sensitive issues such as Right to Life, E.R.A., the enviorn- ment, National defense and the Economy brought many students to a closer real- ization of the problems faced by the lead- ers of America. The two-week political party unit and American Party Convention provided a valuable learning experience for students and teachers alive and helped everyone appreciate more fully the selection pro- cess for our national candidates.