Hi Mock Trial parents, 

I am Aaron Kawalsky's mom, Michele Loewenstein (this is my 4th year as a Mock Trial parent).  I have volunteered to be the parent liaison this year.  As Deb Junek told you, the next couple of weeks are extremely important to the team.  They have been practicing at my house on Sunday nights and I am impressed with the progress they have made, but there is much more to accomplish.

Regional Competition, Day 1 is on Saturday, January 31.  The week leading up to that will be very busy with team scrimmages and meetings.  The kids should get a good night's sleep on Friday night, as they will most likely meet at the Starbucks at Coit and Campbell by 6:30 am on Saturday.

Saturday, January 31, will be a very long day (details below).  I am coordinating snacks and drinks for the team for competition day (lunch will be delivered for the team - we are trying to get lunch donated).  There are 10 competing members, a few non-competing members and a number of adults who are coaching the team.  Please let me know if you will contribute any of the following:

1. Grapes
2. Bananas
3. Granola bars
4. Nutrigrain bars
5. Protein bars
6. Individual packets of M&Ms
7. Water (we probably need 60 bottles)
8. Ice
9. Rolling coolers

I will also need help with parents who are willing to fill the rolling coolers with the ice and water and get them to and from the courthouse.  Please let me know what you will help with asap so we can have this coordinated and distributed by Friday evening the 30th.  I encourage all of you to to come watch the competition - while cheering is not allowed, your silent support speaks loudly.

Tournament Day (Saturday, January 31) tips for parents:

1. The kids will meet early in the morning and make their own way down to the courthouse.

2. Regional Competition begins at approximately 8:30 am.  There will be two rounds in the morning - each lasts about 2 hours.  There will be a short break between these rounds.  Parents are encouraged to attend and watch the competition (etiquette to follow below).  Pearce will present plaintiff's side in one round and defendant's side in the other.  We will not know until that morning which side will be presented in each round.  The second round will be followed by a lunch break.  If there will be a third round (either plaintiff's side or defendant's side), it will be held after lunch at 3:00.  Third round competition will end around 5:00 (more details on what happens then, below).

3. Place and directions: Crowley Courts Building, 133 North Industrial Blvd. Take Central Expwy I-75 to Stemmons (I-35 connector).  Stay  to the left.  Stemmons ends at Industrial; turn left.  Courthouse is on right; turn right onto Justice Center Dr before the courthouse for the parking garage.  Entry from the garage to the Courthouse is on the third floor (walk outside on the plaza to the main courthouse doors - there is no indoor entry). 

4. The kids will be dressed in suits/professional clothing, as anyone who is part of a court case would dress.  Dress for visitors is nice casual.  Arrive early; you will need to go past security, which includes metal detectors, so be prepared to empty all pockets.  Someone at a desk should be able to guide you to a check-in center, where you will sign in and receive a sticker with a letter of the alphabet assigned to Pearce for the day.

5. You will need to wear the sticker!  The identity of the school with which the team is affiliated is meant to be secret.  No one is allowed in a courtroom without a sticker that corresponds to the team they are with.  There is no visiting of other courtrooms. 

6. Photos are not allowed to be taken!  Videos are allowed only if ok'd by both competing teams.  Generally, many teams have not allowed videos.

7. Remember to silence cell phones.  Judges may confiscate a cell phone that goes off in a courtroom.

8. A trial round lasts for a couple of hours.  Be prepared to sit and watch patiently and quietly.  Limit the amount of going in and out of the courtroom during a trial.

9. We are not allowed to communicate with our children at all in the courtroom.  This applies to any children who are in the actual courtroom (not in the back "gallery," which is where we sit).  It applies even after the case has been presented and while the judge and the "jury" are out of the courtroom deciding the case.  It includes whispering, signaling, notes, everything that might be considered communication.  The case presentation should not be discussed at all in the courtroom.

10. Lunch will be delivered to the courthouse for the team members and coaches.  Parents who plan to stay for the third round can bring lunch or go out for lunch.  Note that there are limited food establishments in the immediate area and that there is limited time to go elsewhere, so bringing your lunch is a good option.

11. After competition is complete, the team and coaches will head to the Belo Mansion (headquarters for the Dallas Bar Association) for dinner and presentation of awards.  There is no cost to them for dinner.  The kids sit together in a banquet room.  Apparently, anyone else who attends (coaches, parents) sit outside the room.  For any parents who would like to attend the dinner, last year the cost was $15/person.  Coach D will need to know asap if you plan to attend the dinner.  During dinner, the top 8 teams, which will continue to Regional Competition, Day 2, will be announced, as well as other awards (such as Best Attorney and Best Witness).  This event ends around 7:00 pm.  Note that if there are only two, instead of three, rounds of competition on the 31st, then the time for meeting at the Belo may be moved up to an earlier time.  For a complete schedule of the day, see the following web page: 
 http://www.region10.org/SocialStudies/documents/CompDay1-3or2rounds.pdf

12. If Pearce advances to the 2nd day of regional competition, it will be held on the following Saturday, February 7, same time, same location.  There is one morning round.  No team knows until that morning if it is presenting plaintiff's or defendant's side of the case.   The top four teams from the morning round advance to one more round.  I am not sure how many teams our region will be sending to state competition this year, but there will be at least 2.  (It depends on how many teams registered, and show up, for 1st round competition in our region this year.)

I hope this is helpful.

Michele

Scrimmage today @ 5:30 p.m. at Creekview.

The scrimmage schedule is as follows as of this day:

The holiday meeting schedule is as follows:

Our next meeting is Wednesday, October 15th at 7 p.m. in Coach D's room at Pearce.

The competition case materials have been posted at:

http://www.dallasbar.org/thsmtc/info.asp?id=2

You will try a criminal case involving charges of arson and conspiracy to commit arson.

Good Luck!

There is no meeting on Wednesday, October 8th.

Our next meeting is Wednesday, October 1, 2008 at 7 p.m. in Coach D's room. Come join us. We need lawyers, witnesses, members that may not want to compete this year but get an introduction to this great competition, and all others that are interested. The competition problem--likely a criminal case--has not yet arrived but is due soon.

Come see what this is all about.

Sarah Mohkamkar - Secretary
Haley Junek          - Co-Captain
Mia Buford            - Historian
Aaron Kawalsky     - Treasurer
Greg Moldavon      - Co-Captain

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