Team Celebrations Board

Rebecca Meyer-Larson

Students create locker signs for their peers. Students no longer use lockers that much in our school. So students hand them out to each other on the bus and students can choose to hang them on their locker or use them as a keepsake from the season.

• Individual student celebration
• Getting the word out
• Community builder
• Silly
• Free

Travis Rother

Does you football team have a trophy case? Your speech team definitely should! The trophy case is a visible way to show your team accomplishments.

• Team celebration
• Getting the word out

Travis Rother

How cool would it be to drive down the freeway and see a billboard with speech and debate students celebrated proudly. The town of Melrose in Minnesota celebrates all of the state champions with a billboard each year. To make this more cost effective, include school-wide booster organizations or PTOs. It is great to see student athletes celebrated next to speech and debate students.

• Individual student celebration
• Team celebration
• Getting the word out
• Community celebration

Zach Prax

The Eastview Speech Team (MN) has a special black book that is passed from one member to another each week. Students write a little note celebrating a teammate and give it to them at the team meeting. The book is meant to not just celebrate the folks who win every week, but to highlight hard work that students are doing. Students can then read all of the other celebrations in the book. They have a few rules - they cannot give it to someone who has already been honored and it has to be someone outside of their category. Besides the initial book purchase, this is a free way to celebrate individuals.

• Individual student celebration
• Community builder
• Fun
• Free

Travis Rother

Your speech and debate program means something. Outstanding speakers deserve to be celebrated. Consider a permanent wall of excellence in the school to highlight the top speakers. You could set this up however best works for your program. At Chanhassen High School, we had very high standards for who made the WALL. Students needed to state champions, NIETOC finalists, NCFL Finalists, or NSDA national semifinalists. This usually meant we only needed to purchase one or two plaques a year. It is expensive when you get started, but the visibility in the school is huge! When the school opened 15 years ago, I told my principal I wanted one of these and I asked for 3 locations: the main wall of the commons, the first wall when you entered the building, and the wall outside the theater. I was given the wall outside the theater (which is the one I actually wanted).

• Individual student celebration
• Getting the word out
• Formal

Zach Prax

https://centralminnesotansda.weebly.com/

This page operates as a digital record book for the Central Minnesota District of the National Speech and Debate Association. You will be able to find the district's national qualifiers, national elimination round participants, and district and national level awards for both programs and coaches.

• Team celebration
• Getting the word out
• Formal

Travis Rother

Consider celebrating students using the NSDA poster template. These look like official NSDA posters, but can include members of your team. These could be used at team banquets, induction ceremonies, or as a hallway display.

https://www.speechanddebate.org/poster-template/

• Individual student celebration
• Getting the word out
• Fun
• Free

Travis Rother

https://www.speechanddebate.org/virtual-team-superlative-certificates
Sometimes you need to celebrate EVERY student despite their competitive success in speech and debate. Use our team superlative certificates as a fun way to do that! Most Talkative, Best Snacks, and Team Parent are only a few ideas. Ask students to help come up with superlative ideas!

• Individual student celebration
• Community builder
• Fun
• Free

Travis Rother

Use https://tabroomsummary.com/ to send out post-tournament results to administration, parents, and students. The website will come up with an auto-generated recap of how your students did at a tournament.

• Individual student celebration
• Team celebration
• Getting the word out
• Free

Megan West

I would host post-tournament "lunch dates" with me in my classroom. We'd get a parent or local business to sponsor lunch and a group would get to come eat with me in the classroom. It was not just kids with trophies but maybe kid who won DI with a kid who finally won their first PF round, and then the varsity member who didn't make finals but watched their novice buddy without asking and was a great cheerleader.

• Individual student celebration
• Team celebration
• Getting the word out
• Free

Travis Rother

Get the word out on social media. Joele Denis and the team from American Heritage Broward are wonderful example of how to use social media to spread the word of student success!!
<a href=” https://www.instagram.com/heritagespeechanddebate/?hl=en"

• Individual student celebration
• Team celebration
• Getting the word out
• Free

Travis Rother

If athletes can have signing ceremonies when they commit to the college, why can't we be doing this in speech and debate? Sell this to your administration and get your students recognized for their post-secondary commitment. Bonus points if they plan to do speech and debate in college.

• Individual student celebration
• Getting the word out
• Formal
• Free

Rebecca Meyer-Larson

Have your team create Google Slide vision boards that you print and hang around your space or have scrolling on a TV during team meetings. They encourage students to celebrate their successes and set goals for the future.

The Moorhead model:
On your VISION BOARD, please include the following. . .
In the middle of your page, put your full name.
What categories do you hope to compete in this season?
What are your 3 fiercest/measurable goals for the season?
Using an image or a video link: What is something you hear or experience at a tournament that makes you feel fierce?
Using an image or a video link: Who is someone that embodies the speaker you want to be?
What is your greatest speech accomplishment?
Note: These will be publicly posted

• Individual student celebration
• Community builder
• Fun
• Free

Jeffrey Stoppenhagen

The goal was to connect tournament success to community service. At the Roudup at Ridgevue, instead of getting expensive team trophies, the team donates money to a charity. A large check was presented to the charity head and a picture with the sweepstakes winners.

• Team celebration
• Community celebration