Competition Dates and Location. 

2008 State Results are posted in Renweb under Newsletter and Downloads.

DISTRICT  #1AA TOURNAMENT  FINAL  RESULTS ARE POSTED IN RENWEB UNDER NEWSLETTER AND DOWNLOADS.
 

District Meet:  Friday, March 28, 2008 at St. Monica Catholic School

This is an excused absence; however students are required to complete missed assignments.                                                                   

State Meet: Saturday, April 26, 2008 at Texas Christian University in Fort Worth.    

1st and 2nd place winners from the District Meet will advance to the State Meet except that in Creative Writing and Storytelling, only the 1st place winner in each grade level advances to state.

Dress Code:  Students will be required to wear their school uniform to the competitions.

EXCEPTION: PARTICIPANTS IN IMPROMPTU SPEAKING, POETRY INTERPRETATION AND STORYTELLING:  For objectivity in judging, these students may not wear apparel with a Prince of Peace logo.  These students should wear casual Sunday attire.

PARKING:  Parking on the St. Monica campus is very limited.  Contestants should allow sufficient time to find a parking spot.  There is a parking lot adjacent to the Walnut Hill Recreation Center, which is across the street from St. Monica School.  Parking is permitted on the curb side of both sides of Walnut Hill Lane and Midway Road.  Parking is also permitted on one side of the street (as designated by posted signs) in the neighborhood adjacent to St. Monica.  Towing is strictly enforced in the neighborhood.  Please help us to be good neighbors by parking in such a way that residents can leave their houses.

WHERE TO ENTER THE BUILDING AND DESIGNATED GATHERING AREAS:    We will provide a registration table in Room 109 of the Family Center for Prince of Peace students to sign in and receive a name tag.   All students should arrive at least 15 minutes prior to their competition to locate their testing room. 

Due to the necessity for quiet in the halls, no students will be permitted to gather in the hallways where testing is taking place until ten minutes prior to the time of their event.  Only parents of first and second graders and parents of speakers in speaking events will be permitted to enter the hallways where testing is taking place.  Students and parents who are waiting for a contest or for results are asked to wait either in the Cafeteria or Small Gym in the Family Center.

While waiting for their contests or their results, students may play on the football field or on either playground.  There will be a few adults stationed in these areas to keep order, but parents or the adults responsible for the children must supervise their own children.  Any child who fails to comply with the directions of adult monitors will be asked to return to the adult responsible for his or her supervision.

SUPPLIES AND TESTING MATERIALS:  Competing students must bring their own drawing medium/media, erasers, dictionaries, and atlases, and for Number Sense, blue pens. (Note this is a change made by the state organization applicable to both District and State). The district will provide paper for Ready Writing, Creative Writing, Art and Spelling and will provide pencils for all contests other than Number Sense.  Please note also that while writing paper will be provided for Ready Writing at the District Meet, at the State Meet students must provide their own paper.

COMPETITION TIMES AND ROOM LOCATIONS:  Included in this packet is the complete 2008 district schedule outlining competition times and room locations.  Note: there may be some room changes upon arrival.  If changes are made, an updated room schedule will be made available and the changes will be noted on the door of the original room location. 

Two Contests in a Row.  If a student is scheduled to compete in two back-to-back contests, please notify the Contest Director of your circumstances to ensure a timely departure from one contest to the next.

DISTRICT 1AA:  There are eight schools competing in PSIA District 1AA this year.  They include: All Saints Episcopal School (Tyler), Christ the King School, Prince of Peace Catholic School (Plano), St. Joseph Catholic School (Richardson), St. Mark Catholic School (Plano), St. Monica School (Dallas), St. Patrick Elementary School (Dallas), and St. Rita Catholic School (Dallas).

Contest Rules.  It is very important that the students and parents be very familiar with the contest rules.   The PSIA Handbook rules and test guidelines for the competition(s) that your student was selected for was included with the invitation memorandum dated November 19, 2007.

Scoring and Grading.  Student performance will be scored and judged on a grade level basis with the exception of Impromptu Speaking.  For example, the Creative Writing contest is for 1st and 2nd graders.  However, 1st grade Creative Writing participants will be judged with other 1st grade participants.  Second grade Creative Writing participants will be judged with other 2nd grade participants.  For the Impromptu Speaking contest, 7th and 8th graders will be judged as a group.

Use of Scantron.   Scantron machines will be used to grade the following categories:  Maps, Graphs & Charts, Mathematics, Vocabulary, Science, Dictionary Skills and Listening Skills.  Scantron is not used at the State meet.

Because the district uses a Scantron to grade the tests listed above, the erasure rule set forth in the 2007-2008 PSIA Handbook is adapted as follows for the Scantron graded contests:

MARKING ANSWERS.  Contestants may write on the test paper, but only answers marked on the scantron answer sheets will be graded.  Any marking in the answer space on the scantron sheet will constitute an attempt to answer the question.  In order to not have points deducted for incorrect answer attempts, a contestant must either leave the answer space on the scantron sheet blank or completely erase all marks in the scantron answer space which are not intended to be answers.  An answer will be deemed completely erased if the scantron machine did not register an answer for the item.

SCORING.  Add 5 points for each correct answer.  Subtract 2 points for each incorrect answer, or for each answer that was attempted and did not result in a correct answer.  No points are added or deducted for skipped or unanswered test items, or completely erased items in the answer space on the contestant’s scantron sheet.

In objective contests that are not graded by Scantron, the erasure rules as set forth in the 2007-2008 PSIA Handbook apply.

VERIFICATION PROCESS:   The PSIA Handbook describes a verification process, which is a QUIET fifteen minute time period in which contestants are able to review their individual graded test prior to the announcement of awards.  During the verification period, contestants and/or ONE adult from Prince of Peace review their own tests WITH keys prior to the announcement of official results.  No pens, pencils, papers, cell phones or any other items, other than those specified for the contest (example: atlas or dictionary) may be in the contestants’ hands or in the area of the contest papers throughout this quiet period.  By raising hands, questions should be directed during this 15-minute period to the contest director, who will contact the district director, who will contact the state office for a ruling, if necessary.  Anyone may call the state office if a concern is not being addressed.  If an error is found on the test, key, or scoring, all papers affected by the error shall be rescored.  Contestants must remain quietly in the verification room until dismissed by the contest director.  If tests must be rescored, a time and place to reassemble for a 5-minute quiet re-evaluation before awards should be announced.  Tests taken from the contest room prior to release date constitute student disqualification.  The test release dates for 2008 are March 29 for District and May 3 for State.  No changes in scores or ranking will be allowed after awards have been issued.  Posting errors may be corrected on a limited basis with State approval.

Please note the times for verification periods on the Schedule of Events.  Attendance at the verification period is not mandatory.  Please note, however, that at the completion of the verification period, no further complaint may be raised about any question on the test, any alleged error in grading, or the administration of the contest and no contest result will be changed after the verification period is closed whether or not the student complaining attended verification.

POETRY INTERPRETATION DOCUMENTATION:  All students competing in Poetry Interpretation must bring to the contest printed information that proves that the work is Poetry.  Please refer to the PSIA 2007-2008 Handbook for more information.  Documentation is required at the beginning of the preliminary and final rounds.  A contestant will be disqualified if he/she fails to provide documentation of the type of literary work being presented.

AUDIENCES FOR SPEECH CONTEST:  Audiences are permitted for all speaking contests.  However, audience members must arrive before the contest begins and remain until the conclusion of the contest.  Contestants who have given previous notice of double entry may leave after performing to attend the contest in which they are double entered.  All contestants and audience members must be seated and once seating has been exhausted, no further audience members will be admitted.  Seating may not be moved from other rooms in the school because in most cases, contests have been scheduled so that the maximum seating capacity of the room is required. 

STORYTELLING CONTEST:  For the Storytelling contest, during the preliminary round all the contestants in one grade level will gather in the designated room to listen to the story.  The students will then wait in that same room until a contest official from his or her individual section comes to the room and calls each contestant individually for his or her turn to retell the story.  After retelling the story, the contestant will remain in the room in which he or she retold the story until the completion of the contest.  Parents and other individuals who wish to be members of the audience should go directly to the room in which their child will retell the story.  Only students competing in the event and the reader for the story will be permitted in the room designated to listen to the story.

PRELIMINARY ROUND RESULTS IN SPEAKING CONTESTS: Results of the preliminary rounds in speaking contests, including Storytelling, will be POSTED on the exterior wall of the Small Gym in the Family Center at approximately the time shown on the 2008 Schedule of Contests. The results of the preliminary rounds will not be announced. Following the posting of all preliminary results in an event, ONE adult per school may pick up all ballots for their school in Family Center Room 212. (Finals ballots will be returned to participating schools following the test release date.)

DISPLAY OF ARTWORK: Artwork created in the On Site Drawing contest will be displayed outside the cafeteria following the judging of the drawings. Students may take their art work when they leave. Any artwork remaining at the end of the day will be returned to participating schools following the test release date.

AWARD PRESENTATIONS:  Contest results will be posted on the walls of the Small gym in the Family Center shortly after the awards presentation for each event.  Ribbons will be awarded through sixth place and will be announced in the Small Gym in the Family Center shortly after the verification period for objective contests and as close as possible to the projected awards time for subjective events.  Parents and contestants who wish to attend the awards presentation are asked to wait patiently in either the Cafeteria or Small Gym.  It is not necessary to be present for the awards.

CONCESSIONS: Lunch items will be available for purchase in the Cafeteria from 11:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. Snack and drinks will be available for purchase from 8:30 – 5:30.

There are also a variety of restaurants near St. Monica School at the intersection of Midway Road and Northwest Highway (south of the school) and at the intersection of Walnut Hill Lane and Marsh Lane (west of the school).  Copies will be available on the Prince of Peace check in table.

OTHER: 

Competitions and verifications are scheduled virtually continuously in all hallways of the school.  Please clear the halls quickly and quietly.  Contestants should not proceed to their contest room until 10 minutes before their contest.  There should be no talking in the halls.  Hall monitors will be assigned to control noise and traffic in the hallways.

No food or drink is allowed in any of the classrooms.

The procedure for raising a complaint regarding a contest or any other aspect of the District Meet is to discuss the issue first with the contest director, then with your campus coordinator, then with the District Meet Director (Pat Dulac) and finally, if a satisfactory resolution cannot be reached to contact State PSIA Director Pat Walters.  If you are using a cell phone to call the state office, please call (817) 416-9504.  If this number is busy, you may call (817) 874-6362.  If you dial from a land phone, (888) 972-7742 is welcomed. 

Any issues not raised before the completion of the verification period for the contest at issue will be deemed waived.

Coaches.  We have been fortunate to have dedicated teachers, parents, and high school students to help the students prepare for these competitions.  Please remember to thank them.

For more information, please visit www.psiaacademics.org and www.stmonicaschool.org.  Also, the Schedule of Events can be viewed on the Prince of Peace website, click on PSIA.

If you have any questions, please contact Lizanne Thomas at (972) 307-8505,

(214) 460-2369 or liznthomas@tx.rr.com.