Debate News The wolverine debate team returned from their annual TFA State Debate tournament on March 13th, effectively wrapping up the bulk of their competitive season. At the end of a tiring three day schedule Hunter Bodiford, advancing to the semi-final round in Domestic Extemporaneous Speaking, came away with a rank in the top 20 of all state qualifying students. This event stresses the ability of limited preparation time to formulate and deliver speeches over a variety of topics including but not limited to social issues, fiscal discipline, and attitudes toward foreign policy. Of the more than 180 students competing in this event, Hunter Bodiford, along with his other team members, made a great showing for Clear Brook and CCISD at large. Additionally, Rishi Suresh found himself in the double-octo final round of LD Debate, which equated to his being one of the top 32 Lincoln Douglas Debaters in the state of Texas. Rishi was also ranked 37th as one of the best LD speakers at the tournament as he debated the topic, "Resolved: The US is justified in using private military firms abroad to pursue its military objectives." Newcomer to the team, Courtney Hamala, was an honorary attendee at the meet and found herself in the semi-final round of Student Congress as well. Also earning recognition at the state tournament was the team of Dinusha Wijesinghe and Nathan Tamburello who were ranked 24th for speaking style of Public Forum Debate as they engaged in five rounds over the topic, "Resolved: North Korea poses a more serious threat to US national security than Iran." Pictured: Rishi Suresh, Courtney Hamala, and Hunter Bodiford
Project Lead the Way Civil Engineering and Architecture is one of the elective classes offered at Clear Brook that is part of Project Lead The Way. On Friday, Mar. 11, students from the Civil Engineering and Architecture class went on a field trip to visit Studio Red, an architecture firm in Houston. Studio Red also has offices in San Diego and Viet Nam. They primarily design commercial buildings, such as theaters, convention centers, and schools, but they have also designed churches and private residences. Students got to tour the office, see various projects the architects were working on, and learn a little bit about how architects do their job. On the tour, the students learned that Studio Red architects use Autodesk Revit, the same software that is taught in the Civil Engineering and Architecture class. The students also got to hear architects talk about their work with various subjects that the students have explored in class, such as building codes, designing buildings that meet the client’s needs, and green building design. The highlight of the tour, though, was meeting Trung Doan, architect and founder of Studio Red. It was quite an opportunity to have someone like Mr. Doan, an architect and a business owner, take time out of his day to meet with the students. Mr. Doan told the students about the path he took as an immigrant to the United States to get his education and become an architect. He also spoke about the founding of his company and its growth, shared stories about several projects his firm has worked on around the United States, and spoke about the creative challenges of being an architect. Mr. Doan was quite an inspiration and the entire visit was one the students are not likely to forget.
(Studio Red founder, Trung Doan, speaks with Clear Brook students TrĂŠvon Hill, Drew Wiley, and Lawson Yeager)
The Clear Brook Bylines March 21, 2011 - Page 5