Where am I?
Forensics
Forensics 
Instructor/Head Coach: Ms. Andrea Hiesberger Assistant Coaches: Ms. Nacole Boan, Mr. Brett Buffum
Contact Information: Room 153 hiesbergera@usd230.org 913.592.7299 ext. 7350
What is Forensics? Forensics is a co-curricular activity, which means students have it as a daily class and are given a grade for it, and they also participate in the activity outside of school, including weekend tournaments. At the tournaments, students will compete in a minimum of two events of their choice ranging from debating, speaking, and acting events.
Benefits/Opportunities:
- NFL – After competing in a certain number of rounds, students are invited to join the National Forensics League, a national speech and debate honor society (something nice to add to resumes and college applications). You move up the degree ranks as your earn more points.
- School letter – Students who attend 5 or more tournaments (double-entered) will earn a school letter.
- Medals and trophies – Depending on how students do at tournaments, they have the opportunity to win these if they place. They also have the opportunity to compete at the state and national level.
- Teamwork and friendship – I want all of my students to work together and form a team that will support each other. Working together inside and outside of school should encourage strong, positive relationships among team members, and students should always feel welcome inside the forensics classroom.
The events:
Acting Speaking Debating
Humorous Interpretation (HI) Informative (INF) Student Congress
Dramatic Interpretation (DI) Oration/Original Oratory (OO) Lincoln-Douglas (LD)
Duo/Duet Acting (DUO/DUET) Foreign/Int’l Extemp (FX/IX) Public Forum (PFD)
Prose (PRO) Domestic/US Extemp (DX/USX)
Poetry (POE) Impromptu (IMP)
Grading:
Students are graded cumulatively on the following items:
1) Two in-class performances: These are mastery grades. To get full credit on each performance, you must receive scores of 2 or 3 on all categories of the assessment rubric for that performance. Performances not reaching all 2’s and 3’s will need to be re-done until you reach this standard. We will draw at random for the performance order. You MUST be ready on the day you are called on to perform.
2) 3-Ring Binder Portfolio: This binder should be devoted solely to forensics and will be checked on a quarterly basis and make up a large part of your grade. It should include the following:
- Notes/handouts
- Group assessments of your performances
- Ballots from tournaments
- Tournament reports written by you after each tournament you attend
- In-class performance assessments from Ms. Hiesberger
3) Our Home Tournament: You will be required to recruit a certain number of judges for our tournament and work at our tournament on (date TBA).
4) Attend Two Tournaments: You are required to attend a minimum of two tournaments, in which you are entered in at least two events.
5) Final project: Ms. Hiesberger will determine a project that will make up 10% of your final grade.
Classroom expectations: All school rules and expectations will be followed in my classroom. This includes policies with tardiness, cell phone usage, and bullying. I may verbally add rules or post additions in the class as needed. Disciplinary action will be taken if necessary.
Costs: The district pays for tournament entry fees, district transportation, and online resources. However, if students cancel their entry the week of the tournament without finding a replacement, they will be charged the entry fee. Students will need to pay for lunches at tournaments if they do not bring their own. A one-time NFL membership due of $15 is required if a student decides to become a member.
Transportation: The Spring Hill School District provides suburbans that can hold up to 8 students and will be driven by the coach or sponsor to take students to tournaments. If more than 8 students are signed up for a tournament, a bus will be taken. Most tournaments will be in near-by districts. In very few cases, there are tournaments far enough away to require an overnight stay (parents will be notified in advance if this is the case). If for whatever reason a students need to arrange their own separate transportation to or from a tournament, approval must be given by the parents in writing and shown to me in advance.
Schedules: Most tournaments consist of three preliminary rounds and a finals round. If no Spring Hill teams advance to finals, students are still required to stay and observe their finals event. Students will be asked to fill out a tournament report sheet. Here is the typical tournament schedule:
7:30 Registration
8:00 Round 1
9:30 Round 2
11:00 Round 3
12:30 Lunch
1:00/2:00 - Finals
Please contact me with any comments or questions! :)