News and Updates

 

Houstonfest Scholarships

 

Gail Cope Scholarships at State

 

Plays will be performed at Houstonfest

 

Changes to rules and critique sheets for 2010

 

Scholarships for winning research papers at State

 

Daily log of changes to state-qualifier list

 

Important Dates

 

Mar. 5, 2010Houstonfest Scholarship applications due

 

Mar. 10, 2010Gail Cope Scholarship applications due

 

Jan. x, 2011:  Early-bird registration ($8) must be postmarked and online registration must be submitted by 11:59 p.m.

 

Jan. x, 2011:  Regular registration ($10) must be postmarked and online registration must be submitted by 11:59 p.m.

 

Feb. 5, 2011:  Houstonfest, Lanier Middle School, Houston

 

Feb. x, 2011:  State early-bird registration due (submit online registration and mail payment; payment must arrive by Feb. x)

 

Feb. x, 2011:  State regular registration due

 

Feb. 26, 2011Texas State German Contest, University of Texas at Austin

 

Schedule

 

A link to a printer-friendly version will be included here when the schedule is finalized.

 

Copies of the schedule will be available at the event.

 

General Schedule
8:00 a.m. Meeting of all teachers and judges in the teachers' lounge on the 2nd floor of Lanier Middle School.  Donuts, kolaches, coffee, juice, and water will be served.  Because all teachers are judges and we need to get started on time, it is extremely important that you arrive on campus by 8:00 so that you can be ready to start judging by 8:30.

 

Meanwhile, students should take this time to place their art events in the appropriate rooms.  Gingerbread houses go in the cafeteria.  The other art events are in two classrooms on the ground floor (118, 119).  Students should also sign up for times to compete in the following events:  chorus, classical ensemble, directed dialogue, duet acting, extemporaneous speaking, poetry memory/reading, polka band, prose memory/reading, sight reading, and vocal solo.  The sign-up lists will be posted on the doors of the rooms listed below.

8:30 a.m. Contests begin.
9:00 a.m. Judging of art events begins.  Research papers and videos must be turned in to director Rustin Buck by this time.
9:30 a.m. Scavenger hunt begins at front entrance of school.
12:30 p.m. Most contests end, although some will last until 1:00.
1:00-2:00 p.m. Lunch off campus.  To lessen the likelihood of mischief and to help the time to pass more quickly, we ask that all groups leave the campus and enjoy lunch elsewhere during this time.  If you don't want to drive or don't have a bus, you can easily walk a couple of blocks to Jason's Deli in the Randalls complex at Westheimer & Shepherd.
2:00 p.m. Gather in Lanier auditorium for entertainment by the band Das ist lustig and by student groups (esp. folk dancers) until awards ceremony begins.
~3:30 p.m. Awards ceremony in the auditorium.

 

Judging Assignments
Event Room Judges
Chorus, Classical Ensemble, Polka Band    
Club Album, T-Shirt Design    
Culture    
Directed Dialogue 1    
Directed Dialogue 2    
Doll Costume, Needlework    
Duet Acting 1, 2, 3    
Duet Acting 4, Extemp. Speaking Advant.    
Extemp. Speaking 3, 4    
Folk Dance Cafeteria  
Gingerbread House Cafeteria  
Grammar    
Listening Comprehension    
Pass auf! (Novice)    
Pass auf! (Varsity)    
Photo Essay, Poster Design    
Play Cafeteria  
Poetry Memory 1,

Prose Reading 2

   
Poetry Memory 2,

Prose Memory 4

   
Poetry Memory 3,

Prose Memory 3

   
Poetry Memory 4,

Prose Reading 1

   
Poetry Memory Advant.,

Poetry Reading 3

   
Poetry Reading 1,

Prose Memory 1

   
Poetry Reading 2,

Prose Memory 2

   
Poetry Reading 4,

Prose Reading 4

   
Prose Memory Advant.,

Prose Reading 3

   
Puppet Show    
Reading Comprehension    
Research Paper Lounge by 9:00  
Scavenger Hunt Front entr.

9:30

Niels Nielsen
Sight Reading 1, 2    
Sight Reading 3, 4    
Skit 1, 2    
Skit 3, 4    
Spelling    
Video Lounge by 9:00  
Vocabulary    
Vocal Solo    
 
Director Rustin Buck
Assistant to director  
Tabulation room assistants (after judging an event)  
Written testing supervisor Ann Marie Schrock
Assistants to written testing supervisor  

 

Room Finder

(This list is a bit more user-friendly than the list above if you are looking for a room number.)

Chorus     Poetry Reading 3  
Classical Ensemble   Poetry Reading 4  
Club Album   Polka Band  
Culture   Poster Design  
Directed Dialogue 1   Prose Memory 1  
Directed Dialogue 2   Prose Memory 2  
Doll Costume   Prose Memory 3  
Duet Acting 1, 2, 3   Prose Memory 4  
Duet Acting 4   Prose Memory Advant.  
Extemporaneous Speaking 3, 4   Prose Reading 1  
Extemporaneous Speaking Advant.   Prose Reading 2  
Folk Dance Cafeteria Prose Reading 3  
Gingerbread House Cafeteria Prose Reading 4  
Grammar   Puppet Show  
Listening Comprehension   Reading Comprehension  
Needlework   Research Paper Lounge by 9:00
Pass auf! (Novice)   Scavenger Hunt Front entr. 9:30
Pass auf! (Varsity)   Sight Reading 1, 2  
Photo Essay   Sight Reading 3, 4  
Play Cafeteria Skit 1, 2  
Poetry Memory 1   Skit 3, 4  
Poetry Memory 2   Spelling  
Poetry Memory 3   Tabulation Room  
Poetry Memory 4   T-Shirt Design  
Poetry Memory Advant.   Video Lounge by 9:00
Poetry Reading 1   Vocabulary  
Poetry Reading 2   Vocal Solo  

 

Group Schedule

Skit 1, Room x

Skit 3, Room x

Folk Dance, Cafeteria

8:30   8:30   10:40  
8:40   8:45   11:00  
8:50   9:00   11:20  
9:00   9:15   11:30  
9:10   9:30   11:50  
9:20   9:45   12:10  
9:30   10:00   Puppets (Lower), Room x
9:40   10:15   8:30  
9:50   10:30   8:45  
10:00   10:45   9:00  
Skit 2, Room x Skit 4, Room x 9:15  
10:10   11:00   9:30  
10:20   11:15   9:45  
10:30   11:30   10:00  
10:40   11:45   Puppets (Upper), Room x
10:50   12:00   10:15  
11:00   12:15   10:30  
11:10   Play, Cafeteria 10:45  
11:20   8:40   11:00  
11:50   9:00   11:15  
  9:20   11:30  
9:30   11:45  
9:50   12:00  
Novice Pass auf!

Varsity Pass auf!

Note: Students will choose their own times for the other group events (chorus, classical ensemble, duet acting, and polka band).

 

Note:

Students in all drama events MUST adhere to the scheduled performance times.  They should, in fact, arrive 10 minutes BEFORE their scheduled time to get all props, etc. ready, so that when the previous group finishes, they can march right in and get on with the show (and please, please, please, if you're scheduled to perform at 8:30, be on time so as not to mess up the whole schedule right off the bat).  There is NO ROOM for tardiness.  The students should structure the entire rest of their day around their scheduled drama times.

 

If a cast member is involved in a Pass auf! game when the drama event is scheduled to start, he/she needs to leave the Pass auf! game and go to the drama event.  Pass auf! teams can continue to compete with fewer than five members if necessary.

 

To put some teeth in this, the judges are instructed to disqualify any drama entry that is not ready to take the stage as of 3 minutes after its scheduled performance time.  Also, the judges are instructed to halt any performances that have exceeded the time limit plus the 30-second grace period.  In the particular case of skits, this means that skit 1 & 2 will be stopped, whether finished or not, at 8 minutes 30 seconds, and skit 3 & 4 will be stopped at 10 minutes 30 seconds.  There is no way we can allow a Skit 1 to drag on for 12 minutes, for instance.  If a drama entry is disqualified for tardiness, the cast members are free to TRY to negotiate an alternate time with the judges, but the judges are free to say no if accommodating a school that missed its time would create a delay for another school.

When is the next Houstonfest?

 

Saturday,

February 5, 2011,

8:00 a.m.

 

Where is Houstonfest?

 

Lanier Middle School

2600 Woodhead Street

Houston, TX 77098

(Click on the address

for a Google map.)

 

Link to Texas State German Contest