Academic UIL students will compete at their district competition at Tyler High School on March 22. Teachers have been preparing their participants for success.

“That is the thing with UIL , you are always preparing for it,” theater teacher Christy Moss said. “However, we began planning and working on this season’s show right after we closed Puffs at the beginning of November.”

The University Interscholastic League requires participants to be in the “no pass or no play” rule, similar to athletes. The teachers choose their students based on their academic interest and skills.

“You do not need to pressure yourself to win, just do the best that you can,” science teacher Sigmund Courtney said. “You have already won and accomplished so much by accepting this challenge. Blessings!!!”

Speech teacher Kyle Hall informs his students it’s “normal” for everyone in the room to be “just as nervous.”

 “Even if you’re experienced like being a four year veteran of doing academic UIL, you’ll always have those nerves.”

The school’s academic UIL categories include accounting, math, number sense, calculator applications, science, spelling, ready writing, literary criticism, current issues and events, social studies, journalism events, one act play, prose and poetry, and speech and debate.

“My UIL team is my newspaper staff,” Newspaper Advisor Christine Sidhu said. “I chose them because they are excellent students who are dedicated to reporting the school news. My staffers are wonderful and they have grown into strong writers and leaders on campus. I just want them to try their best at competition.”