Wednesday, December 1, 2010

Govt Club Christmas Party

December 8th, Ho ho ho…
9:00-1:00, Ho ho ho…

Dirty Santa(gift exchange), ho ho ho…
Bring a $5-$10 gift, ho ho ho…
We’ll play super mega amazing games, ho ho ho… such as apples to apples, ninja,mafia,ect. Ho ho ho…

Must bring: ho ho ho…
If yo last name starts with: ho ho ho…

A-H: Drinks
I-Q: Snacks
R-Z: Desserts

Veterans are welcome!!! Ho ho ho…
Government club, constitution, And every other class welcome! Ho ho ho…

(And we will be having Constitution Class and Shakespeare class after the party -- and this is our last week for Wednesday club, classes, etc., until January 12.)

Fundraisers

There is an Arts and Crafts Sale at Creative Learning Connection next Tuesday evening, December 7 from 7 pm to 9 pm. There will be a table for baked goods (fundraiser for the entire club) and a table for crafts (fundraiser for individuals who participate). Please let Mrs. Jaime or Maggie know if you are participating in either or both.

Youth Leg Details

It looks like we will be taking students to Youth Leg this year. We would leave on February 24 and return on February 27. The price goes up on December 21, so I strongly encourage students to sign up by December 20.

Prices and sign up links can be found at http://www.alyig.org/leg/index.html

We have discussed in club meetings that it will be necessary for me to meet with a parent from each family before we go, so please understand that before you register your student. I will be scheduling a meeting for sometime in January, and will be available to meet privately with any parents who cannot attend a meeting. But it is critical to me that we are all on the same sheet of music on the importance of rules, in particular the new ones -- for instance, students will no longer be allowed to take anything electronic -- to include, but not limited to, cell phones and laptops.

Thursday, November 11, 2010

Last Minute Mock Trial Details

We are leaving from our house (off Slaughter -- email if you need more specifics) on Friday morning. Please plan to arrive at 10:30. (No earlier, I will still be shopping/packing up until the last minute!)

If you haven't already emailed me copies of your directs, crosses, statements...Please do so today before 5:00 so I can print copies at CLC before I leave today. Now would be better!

We should arrive home on Monday evening, sometime in the 6 p.m. time period. We can call enroute and give a more specific time.

For those who haven't paid the weekend expenses, please remember, if you are paying today (Thursday) a check made out to me is fine. If you are paying on Friday, cash is preferred. For those who did not participate in the Silent Auction, the cost is $90. For those who did, the cost is $65. Please bring exact change, I don't want to be making change for $100 bills!

Any last minute questions, don't hesitate to call or email.

Thursday, November 4, 2010

Recap on Lunch at Scrimmage

We were able to lower the price for lunch next week for our second scrimmage. Costs for both weeks are being based on $1/slice of pizza (should be enough to also cover the ice, sodas, and paper products). Most students will owe $3 on Wednesday (those that ordered 4 slices each week, and paid the $5 this week...everyone else should be able to figure it out from there...)

Wednesday, October 27, 2010

Next two Wednesdays:

No Constitution Class either of the 1st 2 Wednesdays in November.
Please bring $5 both weeks for pizza and soda:

Our first set of scrimmages is next week:
Wednesday, November 3
Living Hope Church
2614 Pulaski Pike
Huntsville (just off from the Sparkman/Pulaski Pike exit – North of University)
Plan to be there from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
(The first scrimmage will be the Defense Scrimmage team and the Montgomery Plaintiff team.)

Wednesday, November 10
Dress Rehearsal
Central Assembly of God
1701 Sparkman Dr. (North of University, on the west side)
Huntsville
Plan to be there from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
(The first scrimmage will be the two scrimmage teams.)

Tuesday, October 5, 2010

Mock Trial Registration and Payments

I'm very pleased to say that everyone registered on time this year. Probably a first. And almost everyone has paid. The YMCA has 4 students listed as not paid yet. We need to have everyone paid by October 20, so you have just over two weeks to take care of that if you haven't paid yet.

Friday, September 24, 2010

Govt Club Meeting: Wednesday, September 29

The primary focus of our last Govt Club Meeting was to get the teams made, and we primarily succeeded in that effort. We have filled two Montgomery teams and two scrimmage teams at this point, and we can put together a third scrimmage team if we have the interest. (So don't worry if you aren't on a Scrimmage team yet and want to be.)

The main purpose of the next meeting is a Mock Trial practice -- with the emphasis on the Scrimmage teams...For those of you on a Montgomery team, I would still like you to attend on the 29th -- but with the understanding that you are there to help! (And three of you need to turn in paperwork by then, also!) Montgomery team members need to determine one or more weekly practice times that work for you guys, and get back to me...My preferences are Monday, Thursday, or Friday...

So for all of you on Scrimmage teams that left Wednesday feeling a little overwhelmed, we're not expecting you to figure this all out on your own. Come back Wednesday with your cases and we'll see if we can bring more of this into focus for you. And if you aren't on a team yet, and want to be, the 29th would be the day to take care of that.

Questions, contact me at cmmjaime@alum.mit.edu

Wednesday, September 22, 2010

Montgomery Teams

We formed the two competitive teams today. That is all the spots we have, we cannot form a third team. In order to keep a spot on one of those teams, two things MUST be done by next Wednesday, September 29. I MUST have the alyig form turned in to me, and the student MUST pre-register on the www.alyig.org website. Click on the "Register Now" button on the right side, and follow the steps. You may pay with a credit card at the same time you register, or you can click the "pay by check" option. If you click that, you will be offered the option to make payments, if you prefer.

A student does not need to be paid for by next Wednesday, but they do need to have registered.

I have a student on the waiting list, and will be happy to replace anyone that doesn't really want to do this....

Monday, September 20, 2010

Fundraisers in October

We have two fundraisers on the schedule now for October. They may be too late to help raise money for the YMCA portion of your fees, but it will be in plenty of time to help with the $100 November portion. (Students who are not going to Montgomery for Mock Trial can still participate in the fundraisers -- they can get ahead in raising money for other upcoming events.)

We will be hosting a Silent Auction at CLC from October 12 through October 19. Pick up a form this week at Govt Club that you can give to each of the businesses that you ask for donations from. We will need donations brought by Wednesday, October 6. Everyone who brings in three or more donations for the auction will get an equal portion of the funds raised. The more (and better) donations we have, the more money we will be able to raise.

The second fundraiser will be a Craft Sale the evening of October 19. CLC will be renting tables (like we do at the Used Book Sales) for people to come in and sell their own crafts. We will be setting aside at least two tables that night for the Govt Club -- one for a Bake Sale and one for any "crafty" govt club students to bring in and sell their own crafts. Anyone who brings in food for the bake sale will get a portion of the funds raised by that; but we will do the craft portion differently (individuals will receive the money they make from selling their own crafts).

We'll talk about all of this briefly at the Govt Club meeting this Wednesday, so if you have any questions, ask then.

Saturday, September 18, 2010

District Meeting, Sunday 19 Sept (cont)

Dress for the meeting is slightly above t-shirts and jeans...

If you're planning to join us, and haven't let me know yet, please do, so we know who to expect tomorrow. And please be at CLC by 11:30.

Wednesday, September 15, 2010

Mock Trial Teams

We would like firm commitments at next Wednesday's Govt Club Meeting (September 22) for those who would like to be on either a Montgomery team or a Scrimmage team. The price goes up on October 1 for registration, so we would love to see everyone that is going to Montgomery signed up before then. (This costs enough, without paying late fees!!!)

District Meeting, Sunday 19 Sept

District Meeting, Sunday 19 Sept

We are meeting at CLC at 11:30 on Sunday. My apologies for cutting into church times, but I don't set the times of these things.

We do have a second vehicle available, so if all the "maybes" turn into "yes", we should still be fine.

There is no cost to attend District Meeting, but students need to bring $10 - $5 for gas and $5 for lunch on the way to the meeting.

Wednesday, September 1, 2010

Mock Trial Costs

There is a $10 registration fee to be on either a Scrimmage Team or a Competition Team. (That includes one copy of the case; there will be a $1 fee for each case that I have to replace because students lose or forget their cases.)

To confirm space on either type of team, I need the $10 payment and the signed participation form from the alyig website: http://www.alyig.org/register/11registrationForm.pdf

The registration fee will be the only cost for students on the Scrimmage teams. Members of the Competition teams will need to pay $220 - $245 in advance to the YMCA (depending on which deadline they meet), and an additional $100 to the Club the weekend of the event. The YMCA fee includes the price for attending the competition, two of our nights in Montgomery, most of our meals, and a t-shirt. The $100 that the Club collects pays for our other night in the hotel, an additional couple of meals, and our gas.

Questions, just ask: Cathy at cmmjaime@alum.mit.edu

Mock Trial Meetings

For those who want to participate in Mock Trial (on a Competition team or a Scrimmage team), the following Wednesdays are reserved for Mock Trial related events:
September 8 -- we will be going over the case, and seeing who's interested in being on which type of team.
September 22 -- we hope to officially form the teams and set practice times for the Competition teams.
September 29 -- a practice dedicated to the Scrimmage teams.
October 6 -- a practice dedicated to all of the Witnesses.
October 13 -- a practice dedicated to the Scrimmage teams.
October 20 -- a practice dedicated to all of the Lawyers.
All of the above meetings are at CLC from 10 a.m. to 12 noon.

The following days we may go later than noon, depending on the number of teams we have, and they may be somewhere else besides CLC:

November 3 -- all of our teams will scrimmage.
November 10 -- Dress Rehearsal/Scrimmages

The Montgomery teams will be in Montgomery from November 12 - 15.

On November 17 we will have a Mock Trial Debrief and a Bill Writing Workshop to start getting ready for Youth Legislature.

General Meetings 2010 - 2011

These are the weeks we currently have scheduled for General Meetings:
Sept 15, Oct 27, Dec 1, Jan 26, Feb 9, Mar 9, Apr 6.
Those are the meetings where we focus on current events, politics, etc.

Meetings are here at CLC from 10 a.m. to 12 noon.

Harvard Mock Trial

We are we going to try to take a group to the Harvard Mock Trial training in October. If you are interested, let me know, preferably BEFORE you sign up, so we can see what type of arrangements we can make in Massachusetts. The information for the training can be found here.

Pre-Youth Judicial

We would like to take a group to Birmingham on Sunday, September 19. I don't have times yet. If you are interested in joining us, drop me a line as soon as possible: cmmjaime@alum.mit.edu.

Youth in Government

Our club works in conjunction with the YMCA out of Montgomery. Their website is www.alyig.org. That is where you will go to register. Warning, they call Mock Trial "Youth Judicial", it's the same thing.

Thursday, June 24, 2010

2010 - 2011 Open House

We will have our Government Club Open House on Wednesday, September 1 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., and have our first regular meeting the following week, September 8, from 10 a.m. to 12 noon. Please join us for the Open House, and feel free to bring a snack or drink to share!

Wednesday, April 28, 2010

Next Year's Tentative Calander for Big Events

Harvard in October (~$300+air fare)
Mock Trial November 12 - 15 (~$200 due in October, another $100 due in November)
Tennessee Mock Trial (?) in February ~$50
Youth Leg in February (~$200 due in January, another $100 due in February)
Washington, D.C. in April (?) ~$300

Final Elections for the 2010 - 2011 School Year

Congratulations to Victoria Jaime, our new President.

We had many qualified candidates running for each office.

Congratulations to the following officers as well.
Vice President: Ben Hubbard

Treasurer: Maggie McKamey

Secretary: Katie Kratsch

Chaplain: Jacob Cecil

I am confident that next year will be as good or better than this year!

Wednesday, April 14, 2010

Presidential Elections

Next Wednesday (April 21), we will be voting on next year's Govt Club President. The following people have been nominated: Victoria, Elijah, Ben, Kayleigh, and Jacob.

We will take nominations for the other offices after that election: Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer.

It has been proposed that we have an end of year party -- if there is interest, that will be on April 28 -- but only if interest is expressed soon!

Virginia Trip

Is coming up soon...I need money in check form by tomorrow, Thursday, April 15, or in cash on Friday morning.. We are meeting at my house Friday morning at 7:00 A.M. Please try to be on time! Questions, let me know: cmmjaime@alum.mit.edu

Wednesday, April 7, 2010

Republican Congressional Forum

April 12th: A Republican Congressional Forum will take place on Monday, April 12, 2010 at the University of Alabama in Huntsville. The hosting organization, The Consortium of Students for Justice and Liberty, is inviting the public to attend this free of charge event. North Alabama's 5th Congressional District candidates, Mo Brooks, Parker Griffith, and Les Phillip have confirmed their participation in this event. The Consortium of Students for Justice and Liberty, an association of middle and high school students, will solicit questions for the forum from organizations around town and from several area schools. This is not an opportunity to protest, but instead a time to listen and hear what the candidates have to say.

The forum will be held in the University Center/Admissions Building on the UA Huntsville Campus. The doors will be opened to the public at 6:30 pm with the program beginning at 6:45 pm. The forum will begin at 7:00 pm and end at 9:00 pm. A straw poll will be taken and the results will be announced at the end of the forum. Members of the media are invited to attend.

Tuesday, March 30, 2010

Upcoming Hunstville TEA Party events

Sunday, April 4th:
Tea Party Express is coming to the Space & Rocket Center
at 2:00 PM. They are providing the speakers. It should be good. (Though Easter Sunday is not the best time for such an event! I hope to make it to at least some of this, but I'm not sure at this point.)

Thursday, April 15th:
We want to have a HUGE turnout for our April 15th Tax Day Protest.
Tell all of your friends, email everyone you know, post it on
Facebook, anything you can think of to help us get people out. April
15th from 5:00 to 7:00 PM in the parking lot on Clinton street across
from the Post Office. We have great speakers lined up. Mike Leahy, Dr.
John Fanning, and Gary Palmer from the Alabama Policy Institute.

Bring your signs!

(I do plan to make it to the April 15th Protest - we plan to leave CLC by 4:00 that day if you want to go downtown with us.)

Saturday, May 15th:
Making of America - Constitution Seminar. 8:30 AM to 4:30 PM.

PLEASE SPREAD THE WORD ABOUT THIS EVENT. Once again we are having an
excellent instructor from the National Center for Constitutional
Studies (NCCS) come and teach us about the principles of the
constitution. Cost is $15 per person. Intended audience is 8th graders
through adults. Location to be announced soon. The deadline for
payment is April 20th. Please make checks payable to "The Huntsville
Tea Party Movement" and mail them to Chad at: 105 Pinckney Rd Harvest, AL 35749

I do hope to make it to the Constitution Seminar also.

Wednesday, March 17, 2010

Virginia Plan

The Virginia Plan
Here are some of the long awaited details for the Govt Club/Shakespeare trip to Virginia:

Dates: Friday, April 16 -- Monday, April 19

Plan is to spend the nights in Staunton, VA;
We will attend 3 Shakespeare plays, 1 Friday night, and 2 on Saturday
Sunday we will be driving to Orange, Va, and spending the day at James Madison's home.
Monday we will be driving home

Costs will include Gas; Meals; Hotel; Shakespeare Plays and entrance into Madison's home

Here are the tentative breakdowns, based on current information, and based on 12- 15 of us going.

per student:
Gas $20
Hotel, 3 nights $60
Shakespeare Tickets $60
Entrance to Madison $10
Meals $50
$200


These are approximate figures based on the information and numbers I have now.
If anything the prices should go down a little, not up.

Any questions, just ask: Cathy at cmmjaime@alum.mit.edu or 235-3305

I need to know by next Wednesday, March 24th which students plan to join us.

Tuesday, March 2, 2010

March Meetings

The 1st & 3rd Meetings of March will be Youth Legislature related...We want to discuss/debate some of the bills from last weekend, and get started on righting some new ones while we're "in the mode".

The 2nd and 4th meetings of March we'll combine work on another mini Mock Trial and a general meeting.

And we hope to "try the case" at the 5th meeting in March...

Monday, March 1, 2010

Youth Leg Follow Up

Well, we had a small group do Youth Leg this year, but I think it is safe to say that a good time was had by all. Katie had the privilege of arguing her bill before the Supreme Court, Victoria had the excitement of having a lobbyist pick her bill to campaign against, and Ben was chosen as an alternate to National Affairs. (Katie had that honor last year as well.) Since I wasn't in the Supreme Court this year, I was able to watch much of the debating, and enjoyed seeing all three of them in action, including seeing Victoria explain very clearly that the world around us couldn't have come into being through random accidents.

I was very proud of them, and I am re-energized to keep "fighting the good fight" in the Legislative process there.

Monday, February 22, 2010

Youth Leg

We need to leave CLC on Thursday as close to 5:00 p.m. as possible for Youth Leg. Ben and Katie, you may get dropped off anytime during the afternoon that works for you/your parents.

We had planned on the usual $100 extra for the two extra meals we will be getting, gas, and the extra hotel night, and for a little while I was concerned that because of our numbers that figure would be too low. But the good news is that it might be too high! I'm waiting for a final figure from the YMCA on our extra hotel night, but it could be more like $75 or $80 each. Please bring that Wednesday if you are bringing a check, so I have time to deposit it, or Wednesday or Thursday if you are bringing cash.

We are planning to eat dinner on our way to Montgomery -- probably at Peach Park. And we'll be going out for dinner on Saturday evening to a buffet place. Those meals are included in the above figures. I plan on $10 for each of us for each of those -- and will just give the students their change if they spend less than that.

Any questions let me know, and again, great job last Saturday in Tennessee!

Sunday, February 21, 2010

Congratulations to our Mock Trial team

3rd Place team...Best Witness (Maggie) and Best Attorney (Victoria) in the region!
Excellent job everyone, especially for the amount of time we had! I was proud of everyone.

Monday, February 15, 2010

Winter Weather

If the Madison City School cancel classes because of the weather, I will cancel classes/practices because of the weather. If in doubt, please check back here.

Saturday, February 13, 2010

Next Week's Mock Trial

We will scrimmage Wednesday morning at CLC (from 10 till Noon). It is NOT a dress rehearsal, so dressing up is not required. (I need everyone to email me their questions by then, so we make sure we have them!)

We will have someone else do Ariella and Heidi's parts Wednesday morning for the scrimmage, and then they will get to practice their parts Wednesday afternoon between 4 and 5. Witnesses need to be ready to do their answers without papers!

Then we have one more practice, on Thursday, from 10 till..., to finish up any loose ends.

That's the good news...The bad news is that we need to be in Columbia by 7:30 a.m. next Saturday for the competition. Which means we need to have folks at our house between 5:30 and 5:45 a.m....All of the girls are invited to spend the night, in case that helps. (We're farming out Tori's brothers that night...) We HAVE to be on the road by 6:00!

If anyone needs directions or has any questions, email me at cmmjaime@alum.mit.edu.

Please plan to bring $20 on Saturday -- $10 for gas and $10 for food...

We should be getting back to my house about 9 p.m. that evening...

Wednesday, February 10, 2010

February Govt Club Meetings

Feb 3 -- General Meeting
Feb 10 -- Mock Trial practice
Feb 17 -- Mock Trial scrimmage
Feb 24 -- Debate bills

Thursday, February 4, 2010

Picture Fundraiser

The picture fundraiser for this month has been cancelled. To the couple of people who did sell a couple of pictures, my apologies, but we just weren't getting the participation we needed. Please return the money to the folks you've collected it from, and apologize. We may try again in the early fall.

Thursday, January 21, 2010

Govt Club Dress Code

New dress code policy effective immediately: For our competitions/events, all girls will be expected to wear dress slacks, not skirts. (If we have someone in the future who does not ever wear slacks for religious reasons, we will make an exception, but I don't believe we have any females currently in the group to which that would apply.)

Questions, just ask.
Mrs. Jaime

TN Mock Trial

Witnesses:
Grace -- Rowan
Maggie -- Taylor
Katie -- Blake
Tess -- Emerson
Ben -- Elliot
Heidi -- Ronni

Lawyers:
Ariella is starting the crosses for Elliot and Emerson;
Tori is starting the crosses for Ronnie and Rowan;
Connor has Blake Allford and Taylor Fisher.

For statements, I'm thinking one closing for Ariella, the other for Connor, and both openings for Tori...Let me know if that works, and we'll go from there. We have a week or two to figure that out.

For now, we will plan on practices on Wednesday from 4 - 5, and Thursday from 10 till we're done...(Unless folks are available earlier than 10...Is there anyone who would be available to start practice at 9 or 9.30 on Thursdays?) Please plan to be at at least ONE of the practices each week, and please let me know which one(s) you plan to attend.

By next week we need rough drafts on our first sets of questions from everybody.

Questions, let me know: cmmjaime@alum.mit.edu

Monday, January 18, 2010

Mock Trial in TN?

Ok, so we can't do National Mock Trial. But, now that we have a student living in TN, it looks like we my be able to compete in Mock Trial in TN. We're behind - the case was released in November -- but if we would like to compete this year, we can put together team now, and compete in Columbia, TN on February 20. Case materials are available at: http://www.tba.org/MockTrial/

Good news -- cost is basically nil: gas and meals for the day should be it. But we would have to kick into high gear. Who's interested? If we're going to do it, I would like us to start this week, so let me know if you haven't had enough of Mock Trial for this year! Email me: cmmjaime@alum.mit.edu, or leave me a message here or on Facebook.

Wednesday, January 6, 2010

1st Meeting of 2010/Plans for Next Week

We started the Year primarily focusing on bills for Youth Legislature. We spent much of the meeting debating bills from a previous year's bill book.

I have 6 students tentatively interested in attending Youth Leg the end of February. The price goes up next week, on January 14, so I highly recommend students sign up by next Wednesday. I would like a final headcount by next Wednesday anyway, so I can make sure we have enough transportation for the trip to and from Montgomery.

The decision has been made to do some "mini Mock Trials" on our other Wednesday mornings -- 2nd & 4th Wednesdays of each month. That will start next Wednesday, January 13.