Hello Ex Nihilo and interested families,
Congrats to our recent competitors at the Inland Club Challenge and the Grand Canyon Challenge II this month. Well done to all — and hooray for 1st place finishes for Rebecca (Extemp, ICC), Laeken (Persuasive, GCCII), and Rees (JR Interp, GCCII) — photos from both events below.
A hearty congratulations also to all TEN of our Ex Nihilo competitors who have qualified for nationals (in a combined 22 events!). Way to go: Rebecca Hodge, Timothy Speaks, Michael Weld, Joshua Lee, Anna Claire Puglia, Laeken Halfpap, Christian White, Olivia Van Leuven, Hannah Lee, & Abraham Van Leuven. We look forward to cheering you each on, and are excited to announce our club sponsorship of your full NITOC 2023 registration fees!
As we switch gears now for the remaining weeks of the season, we’ll be setting our sights on supporting our NITOC-bound competitors, regrouping our regular season students in limited prep, apologetics, and speech topic brainstorming, as well as welcoming all new and interested families with an end of season open house on May 15th.
Our next two weeks of club will continue in regular season schedule:
6pm – Opening and ice breaker games
6:15-6:30 – Apologetics
6:30-7:30 – Speech hour — NITOC prep, juniors, & breakout sessions for next season brainstorming, apologetics card-writing, and limited prep practice.
7:30-7:45 Break (snack sign-up: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10c0b4aaaa722a3f85-exnihilo#/ )
7:45-9pm – Debate hour & Intro to Parliamentary Debate for interested students.
Our May 15th Open House will be an opportunity for our NITOC competitors to deliver their speeches to visiting families. We’ll share about the club, the league, and the basics of various events and local tournaments. Send photos to Slack #photos to be included in end of year slideshow.
Stoa summer camps: Be on the lookout for speech and debate summer camp opportunities. These are a great way to sharpen skills and get a jump on research and writing for the year ahead. We encourage participation by offering a $50 discount in Ex Nihilo 2023-24 registration fees for all students who participate in an approved event over the summer. If you know of a helpful camp, share with us as they open! We will compile a list and post. Currently, The Helmsman Institute summer speech and/or debate camps, held at Concordia University in July, just opened registration at: https://www.helmsmeninstitute.org/.
Save the date: June 3rd, 3pm: End of year beach party, to include the much anticipated *Evidence Burn Bonfire* — additional details to follow.
June 10th, Ex Nihilo board meeting. If you have feedback for club as we begin next season planning, please reach out with ideas or areas of improvement. We are happy to hear from you, and desire to serve our students and families. https://nihilo.club/leadership-team/
Stoa Academy, June 29-Jul 1st (Fayetteville, AR): Contact us if you are interested in attending this year’s Stoa Academy training and encouragement for parents and coaches. It is a family camp this year, welcoming students as well as parents. https://stoausa.org/stoa-academy-2023/
And finally, a continued reminder of Stoa’s National Invitational Tournament of Champions (NITOC), May 21-27, being held in Irvine, CA. Event details here: https://nitoc2023.homeschooldebate.net/ for judge registration, if you or someone you know may be willing to help judge or recruit judges for this year’s NITOC tournament.
See you tomorrow!
