On Monday, November
14, 36 Robertson County students participated in the TN Center for Civic
Engagement's Middle School Model United Nations. Additionally,
on Friday November 18 to Sunday November 22, 18 more county students
participated in High School Model United Nations in Murfreesboro, TN. During
this program, students represent an assigned country, research a problem in
that country, create a solution to that problem, write a resolution to the
United Nations asking for assistance in solving the problem with the solution
they created, present a persuasive speech, and then defend their resolution in
a five-round pro/con debate format using parliamentary procedure. This
real-world, problem-solving scenario requires advanced research, thinking,
writing and speaking skills and is academically demanding. There were 900
middle school students and nearly 1000 high school students participating from
34 public, private and magnet schools around the state.
Three Innovation Academy teams, two middle
school and one high school, received an Outstanding Resolution Award for their
written resolution. The judging criteria for outstanding resolution is as
follows: In keeping with national character • Feasibility • Significance
of impact • Innovation • Correctly formatted with evidence of research •
Submitted by conference deadline • In keeping with the YMCA core values of
Honesty, Caring, Respect, and Responsibility.
The middle school teams winning an
Outstanding Resolution Award were: Uzbekistan (Chesley Holcomb, Karez Omer,
Katey Hall, and Cooper Oeschel, all 7th graders) and Burundi
(Jayci Bradley, Audry McCants, Alex Martinez and Caralee Stokes, all 8th graders).
The high school team winning
Outstanding Resolution was Columbia (Luis Asencio Garcia, Addie Cook, Teygan
Williams and Maya Atkins).
Robertson County also had two middle
school delegates and two high school delegates who won an Outstanding Delegate
Award for their individual skills in this program. The judging criteria for
Outstanding Delegate is as follows: Cooperative and respectful in his/her
approach to legislation and peers • Ability to stay in nation’s character • Use
of proper parliamentary procedure • Evidence of preparation and research •
Positive attitude • Positive leadership • Poise and maturity • Excellent
Communication- clear, concise, and convincing • Behavior in keeping with the
YMCA core values of Honesty, Caring, Respect, and Responsibility • Meet all
deadlines established by the YMCA Center for Civic Engagement
These students were Alex
Martinez(8th), Taylor Love (7th), Brynlee Massey (10th) from Innovation
Academy, and Callie Bishop (9th) from Springfield High School.
The district also had three students
who chose the most rigorous component in the convention, presenting a court
case in the International Court of Justice (ICJ). These students applied
for this privilege and spent the weekend arguing an international-level case
before five ICJ justices. These students, all from Springfield High School,
were Presley Richards, Peyton Hopper and Katy Fisher.