Dear Parents,

     Cathey Middle School has ranked number one in the Academic UIL district competitions for nine years in a row.  In order to continue the tradition, this year we are providing you with information regarding the events.  Participating in UIL is an excellent way for your child tobecome part of our winning tradition.  Below you will find a synopsis of each Academic UIL event that is offered in the McAllen ISD district.  All Academic UIL events are available for 6^th, 7^th, and 8^th grade students.

      The one event that is not listed below is the One Act Play.  This event will require the students to try out in order to participate.  We will have tryouts and begin practices in January 2010.  If your child isinterested in being part of the One Act Play, we encourage them to join the Drama Club.  This is one of the main classes offered in the After School Enrichment Program.  This group works with Ms. Monica Ruiz, our drama teacher, on the art of acting.  This is great preparation for theOne Act Play.

      All UIL students will have practice at least once a week for each event they are interested in.  Because seats are limited during the competitions, attendance can be a determining factor to be compete.  All UIL Meets will be on Saturdays.  The students will meet at Cathey in the early morning and will ride a bus to the hosting school.  Your child will receive notice ahead of time and you will be required to sign a permission slip.  Parents are always welcome to accompany the group to any meet.

 Thank you,

UIL Events

 Calculators: 

Thecalculator applications contest is designed to stimulate thedevelopment of mathematical and calculator skills for students in grade6,7 and 8. Goals are both intellectual and practical: developingmathematical reasoning and knowledge and requiring the application ofproblem-solving skills toward realistic problems. Students will take atest containing 80 problems in 30 minutes. The contest consists of mathproblems, which may include calculations involving addition,subtraction, multiplication, division, roots, and powers. It alsoincludes straight-forward calculation problems, and simple geometricand stated problems similar to those found in recently adoptedtextbooks. Students may use any silent, hand-held calculator that doesnot require auxiliary electric power. The calculator data and programmemory should be cleared prior to the contest; students may not usepre-recorded programs during the contest.

 Dictionary Skills: 

Thoroughknowledge of the dictionary is a way to increase a student's ability tofind the information that is needed for class work as well as everydayliving. The subject matter of all tests is taken from the Merriam Webster's Intermediate Dictionary, 1998 and subsequent editions.  CatheyMiddle School does provide all contestants with the proper dictionary. Each test consists of approximately 40 objective and short answerquestions to be completed in 20 minutes. Contestants from grades 6, 7,and 8 use dictionaries during the competition, which may be tabbed.Contest questions cover word origins and histories, parts of speech,pronunciation, variant spellings, plurals, alphabetizing and other suchelements. Test questions are also taken from charts, tables and listscontained in the dictionary.

 Impromptu Speaking: 

Thiscontest provides opportunities for students in grades 6, 7, and 8 toevaluate speeches given by others; to explore the use of the voice andbody in speaking situations; to examine the different purposes forspeaking; to organize ideas; to prepare and deliver various speeches;and to develop self-confidence.  Contestants will draw three topics andhave three minutes to prepare a speech, which must be presented withoutany notes. The contest gives participants experience in thinking,organizing, formulating clear thoughts, and delivering those thoughtsto an audience effectively.  The maximum time limit for each speech isfive minutes. There is no minimum time limit. Students who exceed theallotted five minutes shall be penalized one rank.

  Listening Skills:

Thelistening contest is designed to help students in grades 6, 7, and 8recognize the importance of listening skills and to identify problemsthey may have in listening effectively. It also provides a challengingformat to test the improvement of their listening abilities. Throughpreparation for the contest, participants will listen actively to avariety of material and learn to analyze and evaluate a speaker'smessage critically. Tests will include, but not necessarily be limitedto, language arts, fine arts, natural sciences and social studies. Theobjective tests will measure skills such as identifying the main ideaand supporting ideas, drawing conclusions, distinguishing fact fromopinion, and mastering other listening and thinking skills. Contestants will listen to a script ranging from seven to ten minutesin length, take notes as needed, and use their notes to answer 25multiple choice, true/false and short answer test questions. A varietyof subject matter will be used for the listening tests.

 Maps, Charts, and Graphs

Themaps, graphs & charts contest is designed to help students learn toget information from a variety of maps, graphs and charts includingworld maps, pie charts, bar charts and local area maps. The objectivetest will measure skills such as using a reference book to locateinformation, making comparisons, estimating and approximating, usingscale and interpreting grid systems, legends and keys.  Students willbe given an objective test containing approximately 75 multiple choice,true/false, and fill-in-the-blank questions which must be answered in45 minutes. The contest is written using only the 2003 and 2004editions of the Nystrom Desk Atlas. Students may use either one, or any other atlas, but the test questions are written using this source.

 Mathematics: 

Studentsbegin taking math in elementary school and continue taking it in highschool. Learning to complete math problems quickly is a valuable skillin all facets of life including engineering, accounting, completing atax return and even grocery shopping. This contest includes problemscovering, but not limited to: numeration systems, arithmetic operationsinvolving whole numbers, integers, fractions, decimals, exponents,order of operations, probability, statistics, number theory, simpleinterest, measurements and conversions. Geometry and algebra problemsmay be included as appropriate for the grade level.  The contest,designed for students in grade 6, 7 and 8, consists of 50multiple-choice problems.

 Modern Oratory: 

InModern Oratory, the sixth, seventh, and eighth grade contestants willselect one of the topics, determine the critical issues in the topic,and acknowledge both pro and con points citing support discovered intheir research. Students will choose a side they will defend andsupport that side with additional evidence. Along with the skills ofanalysis, research, note taking, documentation, evaluation anddecision-making come those of delivery and the skill of memorization. Students will deliver a three to six minute speech without the use ofnotes on their topic. In the process of preparing for the contest, thestudent will need to:

definethe problem; determine the pro and con issues; research the issue; lookat both sides of an issue; reach a conclusion; and support thatconclusion with documentation. To achieve and maintain the educationalgoals of the contest activity, the teacher and/or parent may guide thedevelopment of the research and writing of the speech, but shall not bepermitted to write the speech for the student.

 Number Sense: 

Individualsare called upon every day to use their ability to make quick mentalcalculations to make decisions. The development of such abilitiesshould be an integral part of the math curriculum. Concepts coveredinclude, but are not limited to: addition, subtraction, multiplication,division, proportions, and use of mathematic notation.  Students willbe given a 10-minute, fill-in-the-blank test, which they must completewithout doing calculations on paper or on a calculator. Erasures andmark-outs are not permitted.

  Oral Reading: 

Readingliterature out loud provides opportunities for students to analyze thetext, to grow and to develop as a performer, to communicate a messageto an audience and to perform an artistic creation. The oral readingcompetition should be an extension of the classroom literary andlanguage arts activities in poetry, short stories and children’sfiction. See the link below for frequently asked questions about oralreading.

Students in grade 6read a selection of poetry. Each selection may be one poem, a cuttingof a poem, or a combination of poems. The same selection may be read inall rounds, but different selections are permissible. Selections mustbe published although the poet may be unknown or anonymous. Students ingrades 7 and 8read selections of poetry.  Each may be a single reading, a cutting froma longer selection, or a combination of several selections. The sameselection may be read in all rounds, but different selections arepermissible. Selections must be published although the author may beunknown or anonymous. Prose readings may include sketches, fables,tales, science fiction, fantasy, mysteries and the like. The maximumtime for each presentation is six minutes. The selection may be acutting from a short story or novel of may be nonfiction.

 Science: 

Emphasisfor the Science contest, for students in sixth, seventh, and eighthgrades, will be placed on knowledge of scientific fact, understandingof scientific principles and the ability to think through scientificproblems. The contest was designed to test not only memory but also theability to critically think about science and scientific processes andconcepts. Such concepts include, but are not limited to: matter andenergy, equilibrium, force and motion, physical and chemicalproperties, the relationship between organisms and the environment, thecomponents of our solar system, the composition of matter and genetics.The contest will build upon the vast body of changing and increasingknowledge described by physical, mathematical, and conceptual models.Each test will consist of approximately 35 multiple-choice questions,which will be taken from current state-adopted science textbooks andthe curriculum.

 Spelling: 

Thespelling contest is designed to give students in grades 3, 4, 5, 6, 7and 8 exposure to a wide variety of vocabulary words. It is not acontest of memorization. For the most educational value, preparationfor this contest should include instruction in the rules of the Englishlanguage, meanings and definitions, and root words. In addition tolearning to spell proficiently, contestants will learn to write clearlyand to capitalize words properly.

Studentswill write down words given by the pronouncer on their paper at a rateof approximately five words per minute.  Grades 6: 80 words;tiebreaker, 30 words.  Grades 7 and 8: 110 words; tiebreaker, 40 words.The tiebreaker is given to all contestants immediately following theinitial test.

 Ready Writing: 

Texashas put a great emphasis on writing skills at all levels of school andall levels of statewide testing. Ready Writing, a contest for studentsin grades 3,4,5,6,7 and 8, builds upon those skills and helps studentsrefine their writing abilities. In particular, this contest helps themto learn to write clearly and correctly a paper that is interesting andoriginal.  A standard dictionary or thesaurus may be used during thecontest.  Contestants are given a choice between two prompts whichdefines the audience, and provides the purpose for writing. Studentsshould be encouraged to analyze the prompts for the purpose of writing,the format, the audience and the point of view. The format may be, forexample, a letter, an article for the newspaper or an essay for theprincipal. Various writing strategies may be stated or implied in theprompt. Some of these include:  description to inform -- describe thehappening or person/object from imagination or memory;  narration --write a story;  persuasion -- describe and argue just one side of anissue; describe both sides of an issue then argue only one side; writean editorial; write a letter to persuade, etc.  There is no minimum ormaximum number of words the contestants must write.

 Record Mime: 

Studentsselect a piece of music to which they perform.  The event is judged onthe performance with the emphasis on the lip-synching.

For More information go to the main UIL web site.
http://www.uil.utexas.edu/athletics/manuals/pdf/parent_information.pdf