December Tournament in Jackson

35 Clague students participated in the Region B Saturday tournament in Jackson on December 10.  Clague won both Top 5 (with a perfect score of 100) and Team Average (15.83).

Congratulations to everyone who participated -- top scores (18 and above) from Clague were earned by Matthew, Karinne, Aarnav, Jason, Henry, Alex Z, Alex V., Evan, Catherine B.L., Marisa, Kaiwen, and Zihao.  

The tournament also included a practice round of Propaganda while the cube games were being set up in the next room.  Congratulations to Natalie and Aarnav who each got a perfect score of 28 from the 7 questions in the practice round.  

As you can see from the blog post below, we are looking forward to the State Tournaments in March in Grand Rapids.  57 team members have now participated in at least three Saturday tournaments, which is the Clague expectation towards preparing for States.  Another 11 have competed in two tournaments, and can get their third tournament on January 21, at 8:30AM, at St. Lawrence in Utica. 

Clague at the Super Tournaments in March

Time once again for the December looking-forward-to-States post...

If you are reading this blog, you hopefully know that the Clague teams will be competing at the Michigan Super Tournaments (“States”) in Grand Rapids in March. You might not, however, know how the tournament works.

The State Tournament is something the team looks forward to all year. The team members have a lot of fun at States but also are working very hard. Hundreds of students from around the state come to demonstrate the academic skills that they have developed all year.

The “Elementary” teams (this group includes 5th and 6th grades, so yes, we have Clague players playing "Elementary") will compete March 1-3 and the “Middle” teams (7th and 8th grades) will compete March 8-10. Both tournaments are similar in structure.

• We take a bus to Grand Rapids and then the entire tournament takes place in the hotel. Competition and meals all take place in the hotel’s meeting rooms.
• Players compete in teams of five. We form these teams in late January. Last year, we had four Elementary teams and eight Middle teams.  Of course, we will all be rooting for all Clague teams, but if you have a team member in the family, find out what the team name is so you can follow along. 
• We compete in two types of games. First, “cube” games include Equations, On-Sets, Linguishtik, and Wff ‘n’ Proof. Each of these competitions consist of four “rounds”. We play two rounds of each game on Wednesday and two on Thursday. Results are posted each day, so you can see first the scores after the first two rounds and then the final standings. Teams that do extraordinarily well go to playoffs either Thursday evening or Friday morning to determine champions.
• Second, “reading” games we compete in are Presidents and Propaganda (there is also Current Events and World Card Theme, but Clague sticks to six games). We play Propaganda on Wednesday and then Presidents is either Thursday (Middle) or Friday (Elementary).
• We will try to keep our twitter page @clagueag updated with results.  Results also appear on the instagram page @eric_nelson_ag.
• No matter the results, we are all proud of every member of the Clague team for their hard work and the integrity they show in competition. 

Families will be getting more information on the technicalities of signing up soon. We will also need some chaperones to help out.  There is no extra cost to being a chaperone (although you still pay for your student).  The cost per student includes registration for the games, transportation, the three days and two nights in the hotel, food, a t-shirt, and a share of the cost of chaperones.  If you are a team parent and have the time to be a chaperone, it is a great way to spend a few days seeing what the teams from around the state can do. 

November Tournament in Northville

Our November Saturday Tournament was held at Hillside Middle School in Northville.  Clague had a strong tournament, with a 15.41 average just barely ahead of Northville Meads Mill, and both Clague and Meads Mill having Top 5 scores of 95. 

Top scoring Clague players (18 and above) included Sophie, Simon, Claire, Matthew, Derek, Nana, Karim, Kaan, Nico, and Daniel W.

The State Tournaments are held in Grand Rapids in March.  Clague expects players going to States to prepare by going to at least three of the six Saturday Tournaments.  Since this was the third Saturday Tournament of the year, it is the first one at which players can have met that standard.  37 Clague players have competed in all three Saturday tournaments so far.  For a little slightly-outdated information about the State tournaments, check out this blog entry from last year. 

The next Saturday Tournament is on December 10 at Jackson Northeast Elementary School starting at 8:30AM. 

October Tournament at Pioneer

It's been a while now, but there was a Saturday Tournament in October at Pioneer High School. We enjoyed competing against teams from around Region B, including the new team at Ann Arbor Pattengill.

Clague's 63 players had a great tournament, with a tournament-leading average score of 15.48 and a perfect Top 5 score of 100.

Excellent individual scores (18 and above) were earned by 18 (!) Clague players including Claire, Simon, Derek, three Daniels (Daniel H., Daniel L., and Daniel W.), Karinne, Matthew, Angie, Rumei, Anthony V., Kevin Z., Natalie M., Aleko, Gerald, Kaan, Jonathan, and Scott.

Equations Worksheets

Equations worksheets are linked on the right. There is a packet for Elementary players (6th graders) and one for Middle players (7th and 8th grade). We will not be printing out the worksheets, so it is up to each student to print them out on their own. Worksheets are due before Thanksgiving break.

For every page completed, students will get one point added to their Friday tournament score, regardless of the number of problems they get correct. The idea is to reward effort. Students are encouraged to bring their worksheet packet with them to all practices, as we will often have times when they can work on them with other students.

6th and 7th grade students can get a maximum of 20 points from the worksheets, while returning 8th grade students can only get points for the worksheets that have not been in previous years' packets, specifically worksheets 9G, 9H, 9I, 9J, 9K, 9L, 9M, 9N, 9O

October Tournament tomorrow, 10/15

Quick reminder that our October Tournament is tomorrow at Pioneer High School, not Huron High School as was listed on the original schedule sent out.  All students should be there no later than 8:30am, and plan on being done by around 12 or 12:15pm.

Another reminder that if you haven't already done so, please fill out a registration form for this year at http://www.a2ag.org/registration-form/ Having all Ann Arbor AG students registered with up to date contact information is crucial for us as we begin to plan for the State and National tournaments at the end of the year.

Next Monday we begin On-Sets!  Equations Worksheets will be posted next week as well.

September Tournament at Clague

On Saturday the Clague AG team played in their first regional tournament of the year.  59 Clague team members participated in Equations against students from other schools in Ann Arbor, Northville, Jackson, Utica, Fenton, Plymouth and Columbia.  Clague finished with an average of 14.90 points (perfect score is 20), which was good for third place (first place was 15.89 points) and a perfect Top Five score of 100, best in the tournament (second place was 95).

Top scores for Clague (18 points or higher) included:
Amber Y.
Amy X.
Avani H.-S.
Caleb J. L.
David L.
Jason K.
Jerry L.
Marisa R.
Nick G.
Raayan B.
Varshini K.

Congrats to the entire team for a great start to the year.  Our next tournament is on October 15 at Pioneer High School (this is a change from the original schedule).

What is the Game of Presidents?

So far, our attention in practice has been on the game of Equations. Soon, we will be adding the game of Presidents.

Presidents is a game about U.S. History in which a series of clues are given about a President and the goal is to identify him. Presidents are identified by their number (Washington is #1, Obama is #44).

The players are each given a sheet (which we call a “gazetteer”) giving the number of the President, his name, his years in office, his political party, and the year and state of his birth and death.

The players are given a “range” within which the answer will fall. For example, the range might be 35-44.

First, a "six-point clue" is read about the President (in the first person). This is usually the most difficult clue. For example, 

“Soon after my birth, my parents separated.  I went with my mother to live in a different state.  After she remarried, I was renamed after her second husband. “

Based on this, players choose whether to write down an answer or wait for more clues.  If the answer turns out to be right, they will get six points, but a wrong answer gets no points in Presidents.
Next, a "four-point clue" is read about the same President.  For example,

“I played football for my college team and served as a representative from the same state for many years, eventually serving as leader of my party in the House of Representatives.  I served on the Warren Commission investigating a Presidential assassination.  I left my position in the House of Representatives to become Vice President.”

Players who haven't answered the six-point clue choose whether to answer or not -- this time getting four points if they are correct – and zero if they are wrong.  Then, a "two-point clue" is read.  This clue is usually easier than the others. 

“I became Vice President when my predecessor resigned, and similarly became President when my predecessor resigned.  As such, I am the only President never elected to national office”.

Players who haven't answered yet answer now since it is the last chance for points.  Finally, the President (#38 - Ford) is identified, scores are recorded, and the game moves on to the next question.  

For tips on studying for Presidents, have a look at an earlier blog post.

At the elementary and middle levels, Academic Games covers half of the Presidents each year.  This year (2016-17) we cover #25-44 (McKinley through Obama).  

First Month Notes

Great to see so many new and returning players at our first few practices.  We have been working on Equations, although we fit in a few Presidents questions too, because it's fun.

Note that Clague ends earlier this year than last year so practices on Fridays end at 5:00, not 5:30 as they did last year.  Mondays are still 7:00 to 9:00. 

Our first Saturday tournament is this coming Saturday at Clague, at 8:30AM.   To participate, you must get your registration form returned this week in practice if you have not done so already. 

You can also follow us on twitter @clagueag and on Facebook. But keep checking here too, because there's more detail here on the old blog.  

And finally, the team has chosen its 2016-17 captains.  At Clague, being a captain is both an honor and extra work, so congratulations and thanks are in order to Angie, Bhaavna, Derek, Marisa, and Matthew. 

What is a Saturday Tournament?

A Saturday Tournament is a chance for Clague to play teams from other schools.  In Michigan, there is one Saturday Tournament each month from September through February – for a total of six each year.

Each player will play three rounds in each Saturday tournament.  The games are arranged so that games are between players near the same skill level.  In the September tournament, it is likely we will all play Equations.  As the year goes on, other games will be mixed in, starting with On-Sets and moving on to Linguishtik and perhaps WFF.  We will sometimes play practice rounds of Presidents as well.  

This week in practice we will talk a bit more about how Saturday tournaments work.  

The Saturday tournaments also serve as preparation for the State Tournaments in Grand Rapids in March.  To qualify for the State Tournament, we expect players to participate in at least three of the Saturday Tournaments. 

The location for the Saturday Tournaments varies, but this year the first two are right here in Ann Arbor – September 24 at Clague and October 15 at Pioneer. 

Students should show up at the tournament by 8:30AM, find the Clague team, and put their name on the sign-up sheet.  The tournament ends around noon. 

Almost Time For Academic Games Again

Now that most Clague students have received their schedules, don't forget to add Academic Games as well.

With the Clague bell schedule shifting a bit, we will start out with practice on Friday after school until 5:00, and as per usual, from 7:00-9:00 on Mondays.  We will once again be practicing in the Clague cafeteria.

The first practice for players returning from last year's Clague team will be Friday, September 9, after school.  

On Monday, September 12, we will have a full practice for everyone -- returning Clague players, players who played AG last year and are at Clague now, and Clague students who have never played Academic Games before but are thinking about joining.  Parents are welcome too.   Hope to see you there!

Practices now on Mondays only

With a great year of practice Friday tournaments, Saturday Tournaments, Super Tournaments, and a National Tournament behind us, we will not be practicing as a team on Fridays for the rest of the school year, but we are still meeting Mondays at 7 as usual, because as President Taft would say, "It's time to start studying me again". 

Clague Practices During State Tournament Season

As you're reading this blog, you probably know the State Tournaments are almost here.  Clague sixth graders (the "elementary" teams) will be competing in Grand Rapids March 2-4 and the seventh and eighth graders (the "middle" teams) will be competing in the same place March 9-11.  This is a great time of year for Academic Games but means that our practice schedule is of course changed: 

• The remaining February practices (Friday the 26th and Monday the 29th) proceed at their normal times. 
• Due to the state tournaments, there will be no practices Friday March 4 or Friday March 11.  
• Monday March 7 is a practice for the middle teams only -- 6th graders do not have practice that night.
• The whole team will be back together and back to our usual schedule starting on Monday, March 14.  

We will be posting results as they happen (well, not too long after they happen) from the state tournament on our twitter account @clagueag .   Depending on your browser, you might see that twitter feed to the right of this blog post. 

Last Saturday Tournament of 2015/16 Held In Northville

19 Clague students participated in the final Saturday tournament of the 2015/16 year.  The tournament was held at Amerman Elementary in Northville.

Clague's 93 was good for the best Top Five score.  Congratulations both to that impressive new team from Fenton who took the Team Average title, and hosts Amerman who won Total Points and Most Competitors.  

Top Clague scores (18 or higher) included Jasmine X., Zach N., Aarnav U., Jerry L., and John C.

Clague was missing a number of our multi-talented players participating in the Solo & Ensemble festival in Ann Arbor that day, so the Cube Ripken award for participating in all six tournaments this year is not only unreal, but also unclaimed.  Clague did have 18 students attend five of the six tournaments this year, so congratulations to those winners of the Five-Sided Cube Award.

Those 18 players are part of the 66 Clague players who attended at least three tournaments this year and have prepared for the State Super Tournaments in Grand Rapids coming up in early March. 

January Tournament in Ypsilanti

54 Clague players were amongst competitors from 17 schools at the fifth Saturday Tournament this weekend at Ypsilanti Community Middle School.  Clague led the way in team average, total points, top five, and number of competitors.

Clague players with top scores (18 or higher) included Elizabeth L., Matthew R., Gerald K., Rhea C., Candace J., Phoebe Y., Rafid F., Avani G., Benjamin R., James X., Raayan B., Derek Z., Daniel M., Alexandra V., Bhaavna Y., and Jonathan K.

The award is fictional, but the achievement is real.

59 Clague students have now attended at least 3 Saturday Tournaments to prepare for the State Tournaments in March.

Eleven Clague students have attended all 5 Saturday Tournaments so far this year.  How many will attend all six tournaments for the year and therefore qualify for the Cube Ripken award?  Find out on February 6, when the last tournament of the 2015/16 year is held at Amerman Elementary school in Northville.