CONGRATULATIONS!

Josh and Dakotta fought their way through the divisional competitions and are proud to be competing at State!

Choteau Divisional Tournament

The Divisional tournament in Choteau was a great success; both Power/Dutton-Brady team members earned passage to the State Finals in Huntley Project!

Senior Josh Castaneda from Dutton-Brady triumphed with 1st place against the other competitors in Humorous Solo, and Sophomore Dakotta Wentz charged securely into 4th place with her own revised piece in Dramatic Solo. They also brought home the hardware-- a trophy plaque for the wall commemorating 3rd place in Class C Drama Sweeps.

Our communities, families, administrators and faculties (and especially the team coach!) could not be more proud of these two young people. Sincere, heartfelt congratulations go to them both on their jobs well done!

Please let them know you are in their corner, and wish them luck and encouragement as they enter a new arena to compete against the best of the best from sixty-two class B/C schools from across our great state, Montana!

Shelby Meet

SPEECH & DEBATE NEWS: At the Shelby meet on January 8 Josh And Dakotta continued to test themselves, showing fortitude and improvement. Josh remains poised at the top of the pack, though he was knocked down to 2nd place by a single judge's dissenting vote. Dakotta competed with her newly revised piece and rocketted to 4th place with it, expecting to do even better as she gets a more firm grasp of it in the final weeks before Divisionals. Their combined speaker points earned the Power/Dutton-Brady team 2nd place in the Class C Drama Category sweeps.

Thank you for your continued well-wishes and support!!

Fort Benton Tournament

The Fort Benton Speech, Drama, and Debate tournament on Saturday, December 18 was yet another success for the Power/Dutton-Brady team. Senior Josh Castaneda remained at the top, winning 1^st place in Humorous Solo, and Sophomore Dakotta Wentz vaulted to 2^nd place in Dramatic Solo.

Their cumulative speaker points earned the Power/Dutton-Brady team 1^st place in the Class C Drama Sweeps category, and they brought back a commemorative plaque to place next to their trophy from the November Cut Bank tournament.

The team escorted two students from the new middle school Speech and Drama program, Concetta and Peighton Wakkinen, to observe the tournament. Gauging the excitement of their reactions to the trip, it seems there will be no problem with populating the future Power/Dutton-Brady Speech, Drama, and Debate team!

Thank you all for your continued support, and please get in touch with Coach Sutherland (310-836-9270) by text or voice message to become one of the much-needed judges for the Simms tournament on January 15, 2022!

Power/Dutton-Brady Middle School Speech and Drama Program 

The first ever Power/Dutton-Brady middle school Speech and Drama program is fast approaching! Our first evening will last approximately 2 hours and will be held Monday, December 6, 4pm, at Dutton-Brady School. The focus for those two hours is to provide interested 6th, 7th, and 8th graders an opportunity to get an idea of what types of events Speech, Drama, and Debate tournaments have, and more specifically to introduce the specially-tailored events these students will have to choose from for their own upcoming competition. A snack will be provided.

The second meeting will be December 18th, when students will get to observe a full-fledged tournament in action. With parents' permission, these students will ride the bus early Saturday morning and travel with the Simms and Power/Dutton-Brady Speech, Drama, and Debate teams to Fort Benton. They should pack a lunch and/or bring cash for lunch and snacks. The Tournament will last most of the day, returning the students home later that evening.

On January 11th, the middle school students will meet at 6pm at Dutton/Brady for a family night presentation of the pieces which they have been practicing. Friends and Family are welcome and encouraged to attend.

On January 15 the middle school students will meet at Simms High School, where they will again be in the midst of a full-fledged tournament that will couch their own mini-tournament to be judged and awarded accordingly. Students will again need to pack a lunch and/or bring money for a meal and snacks.

And finally, on February 3rd, there will be a pizza party wrap-up at Simms High School! (Time TBA)

This middle school program is developed and conducted in tandem with Speech and Drama Coach Sara Davidson from Simms. All interested 6th, 7th, and 8th graders from Power or Dutton-Brady should contact Mr. Sutherland (if they have not already done so) at msutherland@dbps.us or 310-836-9270.