St. AMBROSE BATTLES TO 2ND PLACE IN THE IDAHO STATE BAR ASSOCIATION MOCK TRIAL COMPETITION
MARCH 20, 2007
Two of Idaho's classical Christian schools rose through the district and regional ranks to the Idaho State Bar Association's state championship in Mock Trial.  St. Ambrose finished in 2nd place statewide with Logos School's "A" team taking the state championship.  The Logos "A" team placed in the top 10 nationally last year-- the highest placement in the history by an Idaho team.  St. Ambrose advanced from our region with Centennial, Mountain View, and two Boise High School teams to the state championship first round.  12 teams entered the state championship first round.  St. Ambrose competed against Highlands High School (Pocatello) and Mountain View high school to earn one of 4 spots in the state semi-finals.  The final four teams were St. Ambrose, Centennial High School and Logos "A" and "B" teams.  St. Ambrose overtook Centennial to rise into the championship round with Logos A.  Logos "A" clearly showed their experience as the defending champion.  The final round was held between Logos and St. Ambrose in the Idaho Supreme Courtroom with the Idaho Supreme Court Justice Jim Jones presiding. 

This is only the 3rd year that St. Ambrose has competed in the ISB's Mock Trial program.  We entered two teams this year into the competition and both did quite well.  Several members of our "B" team received outstanding honors in the regionals.  Of course, our "A" team went on to state and took 2nd place.  When you consider that our high school has fewer than 40 students and many of our competitors have over a thousand students, the accomplishment is exceptional.  It would be unthinkable to make a similar accomplishment in basketball or football.  Two other factors made our rise even more unlikely.  Our team was made up primarily of Sophomores and Freshmen and the two seniors we did have left before the semi-finals for a previously planned senior trip to Europe. 

Why did we do so well?  In any subjective judging, there is an element of good fortune which worked in our favor (match-ups, scoring, etc.).  The students worked very hard and were motivated.  The primary reason that classical schools do well in this competition is probably our focus on logic and rhetoric.  Students learn how to think on their feet, speak with poise, answer intelligently, and conduct themselves formally.  These traits make mock trial teams successful.  They also make students successful in life.

Congratulations to Lauren Wilford and Savannah Wilson who won "Outstanding" honors for their roles in the State championships.   At the District level, Tate Shaner, Lance Haney, Lauren Wilford, and Jacob West won outstanding attorney awards for their performance in this year's regional Idaho State Bar Association's Mock Trial competition.  Also, congratulations to Lauren Wilford and Ian Tracey who won outstanding witness awards for their performances.  At the state competition, Lauren Wilford and Savannah Wilson won outstanding witness awards, and Lauren won an outstanding attorney award.  Congratulations to Ryan Black, Lauren Wilford, Tate Shaner, Andy Andonaegui, Bryant MacMahon, Savannah Wilson, Greg Stark, and Alixx Arons for their team advancing to the state finals and winning 2nd in a field of 12 teams.  Our second team also made a strong showing winning 2 of their 3 rounds and three outstanding awards.  This team included Ian Tracey, Lance Haney, Keeley Riggs, Jacob West, Dawson Bonde, Stephanie Sherwood, Dylan Wasdahl, and Wes Zickau.

FOUNDATIONS CHESS CLUB PLACES 7TH AT NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS
APRIL 6, 2007
Four students from Foundations Academy competed in the U.S. Chess Federation's Scholastic 2007 National Junior High (K-9)Championships held in Sacramento, CA. This was a 3 day competition held March 30 - April 1. 1,005 students from across the nation competed in 6 sections. Timothy Tupper (6th Grade), Elliott Sher (5th Grade) and Matthew Tupper (4th Grade) competed in the K-9 Unrated section. Jennifer Wong (1st Grade) competed in the K-8 Under 750 section. Each student competes as an individual but schools with 2 or more players in any one section are allowed to combine their top 4 individual scores for team competition. Timothy Tupper, Elliott Sher and Matthew Tupper won the 7th Place Team Trophy for Foundations Academy in the K-9 Unrated National Championship. Elliott Sher took the 8th Place Individual Trophy in this section. These students played some very tough games and a great time was had by all.