The philosophy of the National Academic League (NAL) is that young academic athletes in our society should be motivated and recognized in the same way as other young athletes. I am very excited to be the coach of Stapley’s outstanding NAL team. Last year's team earned fourth place in the nation and continued the longest NAL regular game winning streak in Mesa -- now three consecutive undefeated regular seasons! I expect this year again to be a red-letter year.
Each junior high in the Mesa Public School (MPS) district has an NAL team. We will be competing against six other teams in the East Mesa division. The winning team in our division (East) will then compete with the other MPS semifinalist team from the West division for the city/state championship. That winning team will then compete at the national level. Our games consist of fast-paced questioning on various topics, including math, science, literature, geography, and history. There is also a presentation portion of the competition during which team members prepare a defense on a particular topic and present it to the judges/audience.
All NAL team members will practice from 3:40 P.M. to 5 P.M. in room 105 on Tuesdays and Wednesdays beginning on October 23. Our first match will be on Wednesday, January 9th. We may modify the practice schedule if needed in order to accommodate conflicting schedules. Matches will be on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays in January and February starting at approximately 4:00 P.M. and ending around 5:45 P.M. If we win our division, the season will last longer as we participate in the playoffs. Parents and friends are encouraged to attend our matches to cheer us on! All home matches will be in the Stapley Media Center. If you need more information about our schedule, please click on the calendar index tab above.
Our NAL team needs your support in several ways. First, all team members need to have parental approval for their participation. Please make sure that I have a signed copy of the permission slip sent home with students who make the team. Second, it would be most helpful and appreciated if members of the team could stay for ten minutes after the home games to help clean up. Furthermore, team members will be asked to sign up to bring a treat once during the season either before a game or for the Winter Party. I have heard from former team members that this is the key to our winning tradition, so we will be continuing it this season! Finally, team shirts will be required of all NAL members and worn for all games.
This will be a blue-ribbon year for the Stapley NAL team. I look forward to working with your student to promote pride in academic achievement. If you have any questions, comments, or helpful ideas, please do not hesitate to contact me at 472-2775 or e-mail me at mmevans@mpsaz.org. Thank you!
Mary Evans
NAL Coach
French and English Teacher
Instructional Specialist
Stapley JHS
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