Three policy debate teams from Saint George's competed in the Open division at the Tom Foley Invitational at University HS this weekend.  It was the last regular season GSL tournament and one of Spokane’s biggest, attracting teams from all over the West.  SGS teams of Alli Dixon and Olivia Senske, Cassie Benson and Maddy Roberts, and Chaitanya Nalluri and David Thew competed, with Alli placing 2nd in speaker points and Maddy 8th.  In Lincoln-Douglas debate, John Michael Field competed in the Open division and Erika Piotrowski in JV.  Erika advanced to the semifinals, bringing home a medal for finishing among her division’s top four.  Good work, Dragons!

Congratulations to the SGS chess players who participated on Jan. 19 at the Winterfest Youth Chess Tournament.  Eshan Reddy placed 3rd overall in the K-12 section, and Adrian Rooney placed 2nd overall in the K-6 section.  Donovan Bradford took 2nd place overall in the K-3 section, and Noah Hochheimer took home the trophy for top second grader.  Coach James Stripes and his team proudly won the 1st place team trophy!

In October, the Saint George’s debate program earned the rare opportunity to host a University of Kentucky Tournament of Champions (TOC) policy debate “bid tournament.”  In policy debate, TOC bid status is the holy grail of a successful tournament and program.  Bid tournaments routinely draw competitors from across the nation.  Gonzaga University hosts a bid tournament, as does the Univ. of California at Berkeley.

Last weekend marked the inaugural SGS tournament, which drew 50 of the most competitive debaters from up and down the West Coast.  Schools in attendance included Damien High School (Los Angeles), Silver Creek High School (East Palo Alto), and several of the perennial contenders from Oregon and Washington.  The debate program also raised money to make the tournament affordable to Urban Debate Leagues around the nation.  Next year promises an even more competitive field.  See a Photo Gallery of our own Saint George's debaters and speakers competing at the tournament.

Many thanks to the parents who helped feed judges and competitors, to the alumni who judged and critiqued rounds, and to the debaters who kept the tournament running smoothly.  Special thanks, also, to the generous tournament donors, including Brewer Law Firm, Twyford Law Office, and Anonymous.  Their donations helped make one of the more competitive policy debate tournaments in the nation affordable for everyone.  Go Dragons!    

Members of the SGS Robotics Team #1595 were guests of their team sponsor, Spokane's Pearson Packaging Systems, at a big robotics "Pack Expo" in Chicago on Oct. 13-16.  The students demonstrated their FRC robot and learned a lot about how industrial robots work.  See a Photo Gallery of them at the Pack Expo and exploring some of the other sights that Chicago offers.

On Saturday, Nov. 3, Saint George's FIRST Tech Challenge (FTC) Robotics teams #7935 and #6128 competed in their first matches of the season at Gonzaga Prep.  Team 7935 won all of their matches and are currently ranked 1st.  Team 6128 is tied for 2nd, and the next competition for both teams is December 1.  Great job on a strong start to the season and good luck on your next competition! 

Saint George's School won 1st place in the team competition at the Kings Clash chess tournament on Saturday, Nov. 3.  The team was led by three players scoring 4.0 out of 5.0 possible.  Two of them, Adrian Rooney and Eshan Reddy, were part of a three way tie for 1st in the K-6 section.  "Adrian finished in 2nd overall on tiebreaks, while Eshan won the trophy for top third grader," said SGS coach James Stripes.  "Adrian finished the tournament without any losses; he drew his first two games and then won the rest."  Noah Hochheimer also scored 4.0 and finished in 3rd overall in the K-4 section, taking home the trophy for top second grader. 

Saint George's had two players who scored 3.0, Joey Maestas and Donovan Bradford, with one of them counted towards the team score of 15.0 for the top four players.  The tournament, hosted at Saint George's, attracted 60 players from the Spokane area and northern Idaho.  See a Photo Gallery of the competition in Metters Gym.

Saint George’s novice debaters took the Mount Spokane Rookie Rumble by storm this weekend.  Ninth graders Cassie Benson and Maddy Roberts reached the Final Four in Policy debate, while Lincoln-Douglas debater Beth Schwartzwelder reached the Elite Eight.  Benson and Roberts tackled this year’s Immigration Topic; Schwartzwelder debated over how to weigh political candidates’ privacy rights versus the public’s need to know.  

The tournament marked the three novices’ first-ever contest, and took place against GSL and North Idaho schools of all sizes.  In all, a terrific weekend for Saint George’s debate, and a promising start for this year’s rookies.  Go Dragons!

The SGS Robotics Team #1595 was one of 9 Western teams invited to Hangzhou, China to mentor Chinese robotics teams and compete in the Qianjiang International Robotics Invitational at the end of July.  The SGS team also won the FRC Ambassador Award for their fifth consecutive year of mentoring high school robotics teams in China. 

See a Photo Gallery of the students and advisors visiting a giant Buddha and waterfall, working with their Chinese counterparts, visiting with several recent SGS alumni, and eating a lot of great meals (including for Rick DeFord's birthday in the last photo)!  Thanks to Clive Luiten for the great photos.

Saint George's 6th, 7th, and 8th grade teams participated in the State "Masters" Math is Cool competition in Moses Lake on Saturday, April 21.  The 6th grade team won 1st Place in the "phi" division (2nd highest division).  Congrats to teammates Steel Lindauer, Sam Morris, Annalie Nachreiner, and Kara Chiang.  Kara had the highest overall individual score in the phi division, and the 3rd highest score overall in the entire state of Washington for 6th graders!

The 7th grade team of Gabe Gustafson, Nate Hennings, John Nowland, and Paul Poole placed in the top 4 of their "e" division (3rd highest division) at Masters.  Judy Fitzpatrick returned to coach this team to State, where they did a great job of working together as a team.

The 8th grade team earned 6th overall in the phi division out of 12 teams, but were #1 in the Spokane area in this division, according to coach Shane Kangas, who also coached the 6th graders.  Congratulations to teammates Stella Brown, Patrick McCarthy, Tariq Ravasia, and Ethan Wu.  See a Photo Gallery of all three teams at State Masters competition.  Go Dragons!

The SGS Robotics Team 1595 spent part of their spring break week competing at the FIRST Robotics Pacific NW Regionals in Portland.  See a Photo Gallery of the team in action...