State PSIA Information

Packet of Info – IMPORTANT!!

Be on the lookout for an important envelope that will be given to your child at school on Tuesday to bring home. It will contain:

• your child’s schedule

• your personnel schedule

• the alphabetical schedule with room assignments

• contest director checklists

• rules for contests

• parking info

• campus map

• your name tag – ONLY if you are assigned a volunteer position (This name tag will be your ticket to access snacks and drinks in the Hospitality Room.)

Any other information can be found in the Winner’s Packet 2025 at https://psiaacademics.org

Group Me

I set up a GroupMe text group so that we can keep in touch, especially on the day of the meet. (I will plan to delete this group soon after the State PSIA Meet). If you provided your phone number on the Google Form, I attempted to add you to the GroupMe group. If you didn’t share your number with me or if it didn’t add you correctly, please click THIS LINK to add yourself to the group.

Leaving Early

Below is the list of people who requested to leave at 1:00 PM on Friday to get a head start on driving to San Marcos. If you would like your child’s name (OR THE NAME OF A SIBLING WHO IS ALSO LEAVING EARLY) added to the early dismissal list, please email me by Tuesday at noon. Otherwise, we will assume you plan on a regular pick-up time. I will share this list with Mitzi Vincent (MS Administrative Assistant) and Shelley Scherer (ES Administrative Assistant) as well as the homeroom teachers. 

5th grade: D’Artagnan Ruiz, Chase Jessup

6h grade: Joby Ge, Sophia Forester

7th grade: Blake Karpinski, Devon Harris, Emily Pattison

8th grade: Hailey Benson, Zach Pattison

Dinner on Friday Night

The following families indicated that they plan to attend the group dinner on Friday night at Black’s Barbecue:

 Benson (2), Forester (3), Ge (3), Harris (4), Jessup (5), Liu (5), Pattison (4), Ruiz (3). 

Please email me if you would like your family added to the list.  

Please plan to arrive around 6:30, if possible. Those that arrive earliest can “save” a section of the restaurant (either the back room or the patio) for those that might arrive later. They offer counter service, so each family can order and pay separately. They offer beer and margaritas in addition to some really yummy food! The address is 510 Hull Street. 512-878-0795

Training for Volunteers

To see your assigned volunteer position, click on THIS LINK. If you have been assigned a position, it is imperative that you show up on time and know the rules of the contest.  Our school is docked points otherwise. If you will serve as a contest/assistant director, grader, or speech judge, hopefully you were able to attend the Zoom session earlier this month. If not (or if you want a refresher), please watch the appropriate training at www.psiaacademics.org or at the link below before coming to the State Meet: 

• Contest Directors session: https://youtu.be/06d9sOrgAFg

• Graders session: https://youtu.be/36apEqy4L04

• Speech Judges session: https://youtu.be/Ih3UFvcC9v4

Parking

Remember that you must park off-site and ride a shuttle. Click HERE for more parking details.

Where should I go when I get to campus?

Contest Directors and Speech Judges should report to the Tab Room to pick up their packets before going to the contest room. All other volunteers should check their schedule for where to report, but most volunteers should report directly to the contest or grading/judging room. All students can go directly to their contest location. 

If you arrive extra early or have time between contests, look for the “Trinity camp.” We like to set up our tents/chairs/blankets in a similar area (near the testing rooms) so we can hang out between contests. If you are the first family to arrive to campus and start setting up camp, please send a message to the Group Me app to let everyone know where to find you!

When should I arrive?

Use the schedules in your envelopes that we are sending home to see when your first commitments are. Plan to arrive to campus at least an hour before the time you need to report. This will allow for extra time to catch the shuttle and find your way around campus. Please be on time to the rooms for the test and your working assignments.  All volunteers and students should report to their assigned room at least 15 minutes early, and contest directors  and judges should report to the Tab Room 30 minutes early!  Our team score gets penalized if we have “no shows” for volunteer positions.  If you are working one of our assigned positions, your nametag gets you into the Hospitality Room Derrick 229 where you can find free food and drink throughout the day.

What should I bring?

Most importantly, bring the supplies that you need for your contest (blue pens for Number Sense, atlas/rulers for Maps/Graph/Charts, paper, pencils, erasers, etc). Pens and pencils are NOT provided. In case of emergency, PSIA logo pencils are usually for sale near Evans Hall. Most people that plan to stay for a while bring folding chairs, blankets, snacks and coolers, Frisbees, and footballs.  Bring money or a credit card if you plan to buy food. (The Winner’s Packet has some suggestions for dining on campus.) Students should wear dress code clothing, though students in a speech contest should not wear shirts with a Trinity logo. 

Between Contests

Families are welcome to come and go between contests or to stay and hang out on campus. Parents who do not have assigned volunteer positions should help to supervise children whose parents are working. 

T-shirts

State PSIA t-shirts will be available for sale at State for anyone that wishes to purchase one. Though these shirts do not fit with our dress code, Mrs. King has given special permission for students to wear them the Wednesday after State (Wednesday, April 30). If you plan to buy a t-shirt, go early before some size sell out.

Verification Period/Results

Plan to go to your child’s verification period.  This is when you can look over your child’s test and double check the grading.  If there is any sort of error with grading, an answer, or following the rules, you need to get it resolved before the awards are given out.  There are occasional errors that need to be corrected.  Sometimes this involves a re-grading of all the tests.  Make sure you speak up and get the issue resolved.  If there is a problem and the Contest Director doesn’t resolve it, call or text Mr. Salamone.  Don’t let the awards happen if there is an issue.  Nothing will ever change AFTER awards. If you can’t go to your child’s verification, all the results will be posted online at https://academicmeet.com/meet/ as they become available. (There may be a QR code posted around campus to link you to this site.) Speaking orders will be posted after the preliminary evaluation return.

Reminders

• All participants (adult and youth) should adhere to the PSIA Code of Conduct. Remember that subjective contests are subjective. Maintain grace and poise, in victory and defeat. Accept the decisions of meet personnel.

• All volunteers need to know the rules and procedures of the events with which they are helping. All volunteers must check in at the right place, at the right time.

• PLEASE note rules about bringing cell phones into the contest room.  Should a contestant “accidentally” bring a cell phone into the contest room and be given the opportunity to place the phone in a designated place to be away from the testing area, the cell phone must be turned off or be set on silence.  A ringing cell phone will result in a disqualification for that student, just as it will for speech contests when a person representing a school has a phone ring or takes a video or picture during the contest or during verification..

Issues/Problems

If you have ANY problems with a contest or at verification or cannot serve your assigned position, call Brett Salamone immediately at 409-383-7476.  

To Do

Read through the information in the Winner’s Packet 2025 at https://psiaacademics.org

PSIA Coaching Schedule