<p>I had to tell someone! I am so excited! I don't know how many of you out there know about UIL (not all states have it), but it is the governing body for competition in HS academics and athletics in TX. My DD and her soc studies team just competed at Region in Waco, and she just called - she has 2 gold medals - 1st individual and 1st team. State, here we come! One of the judges was a Pol Sci prof from Baylor and really tried to get her to come there to school. My smart cookie said she would only come if they gave her a totally free ride - having (an albeit new member) CC mom taught her well! LOL. She will also be competing in Austin in May as she took 1st in the Houston Region Citizen Bee, as well. She won that last year. Hope to repeat. texastaximom, have you heard from your son yet? I know he was competing, as well.</p>
<p>Congrats, evita
she will have a lot of fun at the States I'm sure. My son did science olympiad all through ms and hs, had a blast, and filled the house full of medals. Maybe that's not the important part, but it sure is fun for us moms!</p>
<p>Congrats!!!! It is such a thrill when our kids win, isn't it? (My Odyssey of the Mind team just won State and is now going to World Finals next month, so I can relate)...</p>
<p>Give her a congratulatory hug from her CC cyber-family...and one for you, too!</p>
<p>woot woot to Odyssey, too!</p>
<p>Congrats to you all,too. overanxious mother, I know how hard it is to advance with OM, so I am duly impressed. ohio_mom, science? How awesome! I know so many of our kids are tremendous achievers, so, I felt funny posting this, but knew you would understand. I agree that the medals are probably more fun for us moms! And am I having fun now!</p>
<p>bioengineer, my sympathies. I don't know where you went to school, but at our school, anyone interested can try out, and the highest score on the prelimiary tests, etc, gets to go. Nothing about personality or $ is even considered. In fact, my D (by virtue of academic and trivia knowledge) has been captain of her Academic Challenge team (Quiz Bowl) for 4 years, and one of the members is not the most academically stellar or socially adept, (in fact, had been bullied and stuffed into trash cans in jr high) yet he had a lot to offer in terms of knowledge in areas outside the norm, and has been a valued member of the team for 3 years. My DD and he didn't have much in common, but she not only respected him, but valued his judgment on the team. When he was usurped from his position on the team by the coach in the playoffs, she went to bat for him and even though she couldn't change the coach's mind, she felt the sting of the injustice. BTW, I am a single schoolteacher, so am by no means wealthy. What happened to you was unjust, but our school even allows a girl in a wheelchair to be on the drill team! Certainly, she can't do competitions, etc., but she comes to practice and has a uniform and the kids are great with her. I wish you could have had the kind of experience these kids have at our school - public and large. And please, don't ever call yourself a retard again. You put yourself down, and from everything I have heard, there is no reason for that.</p>
<p>" I don't know how many of you out there know about UIL (not all states have it), but it is the governing body for competition in HS academics and athletics in TX."</p>
<p>First, congratulations to your daughter. You ought to be proud. </p>
<p>Now, as far as knowing UIL outside Texas ... all I have to say is that the day this monstrosity of an organization lose its moronic grip on sports should become a state holiday in Texas.</p>
<p>evitajr1, Congrats on a great performance to your D and her team. I sure like to recognize the efforts of these kids.</p>
<p>D's math team was without one of their strongest members and didn't make state, although D placed well individually. But hey-the school that won (swept individual places 1,2,3-Jeez.) said they practiced an hour a day, everyday since the first day of school. :eek: D's team picked a guy to fill in who had never seen a competition math test, much less taken one.</p>
<p>On an interesting note-of the @ 40 students competing in the regional finals, only 8 were female. Eight. D was the top female. She was pretty ticked off at the lack of female competitors.</p>
<p>curmudgeon, I know how you feel. Our school had fairly equal representation - male and female even in math. Soc Studies team was 3 girls, one boy, however. Congrats on your D's performance. Region is such a tough competition and she should be very proud of her showing! Last year, when D won the state Citizen Bee, they announced that she was the first female winner in the history of the Bee! We are hoping that this year, they will announce that she is the first two time winner, and never even mention the male/female status.</p>
<p>That's fabulous news, evitajr1! I know you both must be so excited. CONGRATULATIONS to your D. I like her thinking i.e. "Give me a free ride, I'll consider your school". Way to go, evitajr1's D!!!! :D</p>
<p>evitajr1, thanks. She needed to get over herself for her 36 on ACT math. This ought to do it the trick. LOL. Can't be proving that Harvard President's conjecture correct about females and math , now can we?</p>
<p>evita!!!</p>
<p>CONGRATULATIONS to you daughter!! What wonderfully excitng news! It's very cool that she was being courted/recruited by the Baylor prof! I am familiar with UIL...I grew up in Austin and competed in diving throughout high school. At any rate, I wish your very talented young lady all the luck in the world for her upcoming competition in Austin! :) Let us know how it goes.....</p>
<p>~berurah</p>
<p>Don't cry for me Argentina!</p>
<p>Thanks. I feel like we are a cyber family and revel in all our children's accomplishments.</p>
<p>I know many UIL competitions are still going on, but we just returned from Austin and the State academic competition, and our team just missed second place by 3 points, but DD took second individually in social studies. I can't be prouder of her.</p>
<p>Congratulations to your daughter. Sounds like a wonderful accomplishment for her and her team. :)</p>
<p>Congrats to your daughter! What did she think of this year's reading selection (The Fifties)? I started reading it before district but resorted to watching the movies after it started to get a bit dry - I thought last year's book (Devil in the White City) was a lot better.</p>
<p>Congratulations! How exciting!</p>
<p>I read this year book, but enjoyed last year's better. It was tough slogging, with many, many bits of minutiae on each page, and it was very long! D thought it was very boring, as did her coach and the other kids on the team. I found that it was easier for me to read than for my D, because so much of it I related to, having lived much of it. Her second time through, she said it was easier, and by the third time through, she finally thought it was fairly decent. They have decided that WWII will be the topic for next year.</p>
<p>Thank you all for your good wishes.</p>