By Lorrie Ham The National Speech and Debate Association (NSDA) hosted the Southern District tournament March 11-13. Thirteen members of the Westonka Speech team competed in the grueling three-day event, where students competed for the chance to advance to the NSDA National Tournament – the largest of its kind. Ultimately sophomore Ilana Andrev and senior

Thirty members of the Westonka Speech team competed at the February 23 Wright County Conference Championship, which was held virtually due to the coronavirus pandemic. For the second year in a row and second time in school history, Westonka Speech came away with the conference championship title. Of 27 entries, 22 Westonka students or teams

Open to students grades 7-12 Speech is a competitive fine arts activity, where students practice public address and/or acting styles of speaking, and go head-to-head with other students at tournaments. Through competition, students improve their confidence speaking in front of others, as well as their ability to think and articulate their thoughts on their feet.

To honor our students, staff, community members and especially our Mound Westonka High School 2020 senior class, Westonka Schools will be joining districts across the state and nation in the #BeTheLightMN movement. Once a week this spring, lights at Haddorff Field will flip on at 8:00 p.m. for 20 minutes and 20 seconds. The first

By Kelsey Rausch For the first time in Westonka Speech history, Westonka came away as Wright County Conference Champion, unseating the Orono Speech Team, which has won the conference for the past 13 years. In each of the past four years, Westonka has seen an improved performance at the Wright County Conference Championships. Last year,

Thirteen Westonka Speech members and two coaches spent the weekend competing in Boston at the Harvard International Tournament. In addition to competing, students toured the historic area during their off time. Junior Josh Nkhata broke into octo-finals, but his journey to the podium ended there. The team had a valuable experience, competing against and watching

By Kelsey Rausch Westonka Speech had a stellar weekend at the St. Michael-Albertville tournament on Feb. 8. A total of 22 students broke into outrounds and earned a spot on the podium. With so many competitors earning top spots, the team scored enough points to walk away with the first-place trophy in the large schools division.

By Kelsey Rausch Westonka Speech competed at the Prior Lake Invitational Feb. 1 and saw great success. First and foremost, the team had over 20 competitors receive awards, which resulted in a third-place finish overall for the team. Most notably, four entries earned NIETOC bids—one of three necessary to gain entry into the National Individual

By Kelsey Rausch Last weekend, Westonka Speech competed in two different tournaments across Minnesota. Half of the team drove up to Marshall, Minnesota, to compete in the Marshall Speech Spectacular two-day tournament, Jan. 25 and 26. The other half of the team competed Saturday in Andover High School’s tournament. Most notably, junior Merrick Gormley came

By Lorrie Ham Juniors Avery Finck and Merrick Gormley have been selected as the Mound Westonka High School recipients of the Minnesota State High School League’s ExCEL Award. ExCEL – Excellence in Community, Education and Leadership – is a unique recognition program designed exclusively for Minnesota high school juniors who are active in school activities,