Tag: Tennessee Star Constitution Bee

A Republic if You Can Keep It: Former Teacher and Author Claudia Henneberry Explains the Difference Between a Republic and a Democracy

Julie Carr

On Friday’s Tennessee Star Report with Michael Patrick Leahy – broadcast on Nashville’s Talk Radio 98.3 and 1510 WLAC weekdays from 5:00 am to 8:00 am – Leahy welcomed friend and co-author of the Star News Digital Media Guide to the Constitution and the Bill of Rights for Secondary Students, Claudia Henneberry. Henneberry coined the chapter title, A Republic if You Can Keep It for one of the book’s chapters now, coincidentally the title of a new book coming out by Justice Neil Gorsuch.

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Aryan Burns of Lincoln County Wins 2019 Tennessee Star Constitution Bee Individual Championship

Laura Baigert

  GOODLETTSVILLE, Tennessee –Aryan Burns, a senior at Lincoln County High School, won the 2019 Tennessee Star Constitution Bee Individual Grand Championship on Saturday. It was the second consecutive year that a student from Lincoln County High School won the Tennessee Star Constitution Bee individual championship. The third annual Tennessee Star Constitution Bee was hosted by Metro Christian Academy. Burns, who finished in second place in last year’s Bee, was awarded the $3,000 Andrew Woodfin Miller Foundation Scholarship by the Polk Foundation, which has been a sponsor of the event since its inception in 2017. With his first place finish, Burns also won an all expenses paid trip for two to Washington, D.C. to attend a series of events of his choosing. Burns told The Tennessee Star he will be attending the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga in the fall and plans on majoring in biology. Second place winner Joseph Selmer, a freshman from Stewart County High School – and just 15 years old – received a $1,000 scholarship from the Andrew Woodfin Miller Foundation. Third place winner, Alexia Appleton, a Stewart County High School junior, received a scholarship of $500 from the Andrew Woodfin Miller Foundation. Cooper Moran, last year’s…

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Cooper Moran of Lincoln County High School Wins Individual Championship at 2018 Tennessee Star Constitution Bee

Tennessee Star Staff
Cooper Moran Wins Constitution Bee

FRANKLIN, Tennessee–Cooper Moran, a junior at Lincoln County High School, won the individual championship at the Spring 2018 Tennessee Star Constitution Bee, sponsored by the Polk Foundation, held at the Williamson County Administrative Complex on Saturday. Moran was presented a check for $3,000 as the first winner of the Andrew Woodfin Miller Foundation Scholarship, which was provided through a donation to the Polk Foundation, and presented by Constitution Bee master of ceremonies Michael Patrick Leahy, CEO and Editor-in-chief of The Tennessee Star. In addition to the scholarship, Moran will receive a free trip for two to Washington, D.C. to attend a series of events of his choosing. Moran told The Star that his mother, who was among those in the audience on Saturday, will be accompanying him to the nation’s capitol for that trip. Moran hopes to attend Vanderbilt University and plans on majoring in political science. He intends to become a lawyer. Three students, including Moran, survived seven rounds of competition involving increasingly difficult questions and an Essay round to compete in the dramatic championship round. The other two students in the championship round were Amanda Nolan of Mt. Juliet High School and Aryan Burns, also of Lincoln County…

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Mt. Juliet’s Jimmy Hayes Steals the Show With ‘Soul Man’ Version of Preamble

Tennessee Star Staff

FRANKLIN, Tennessee–Mount Juliet High School senior Jimmy Hayes stole the show in the Preamble Challenge warmup round for The Tennessee Star Constitution Bee Saturday with his “Soul Man” version of the Preamble, earning him “The Most Creative Preamble Award” and an extra point for his Mt. Juliet High in the team competition. Amanda Nolan, Jimmy’s Mount Juliet High classmate, wowed the judges and the audience with her pitch-perfect a capella rendition of the “School House Rock” song version of the Preamble, earning her “The Most Entertaining Preamble Award, and an extra point for Mt. Juliet High in the team competition. Alexis Henderson, a senior at Stewarts Creek High School from Smyrna, delivered the most compelling oration, earning her “The Most Persuasive Preamble” and a point for her high school. The idea behind the Preamble Challenge is to give the competing students an opportunity to begin the competition by having some fun, win points for their high school in the team competition, and get “on-stage” one time before facing a potential elimination question. Most of the competing students chose to deliver the 52 words of the Preamble in classic oratorical style, but, as in the Spring 2017 Tennessee Star Constitution Bee,…

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Tennessee Star Constitution Bee Will Be Held in Franklin Tomorrow

Tennessee Star Staff

FRANKLIN, Tennessee–The second Tennessee Star Constitution Bee, sponsored by the Polk Foundation, will be held in Franklin, Tennessee tomorrow, Saturday April 28 at the Main Auditorium of the Williamson County Administrative Complex. The doors open at 8 a.m., and the competition will begin at 9 a.m., and is expected to wrap up around noon. Participating secondary school contestants are encouraged to arrive by 8:30 a.m. so they can receive their contestant number and have their pictures taken. Students who have not yet signed up online to compete will be allowed to participate if they sign up on site between 8 a.m. and 8:30 a.m. The event is open to the public, which is invited to attend. All Tennessee secondary school students in grades 8 through 12 are eligible to participate. Questions will be based on the book, The Tennessee Star Guide to the Constitution and the Bill of Rights for Secondary School Students, which is available free of charge. The winner of the individual competition will be awarded a $3,000 scholarship from the Andrew Woodfin Miller Foundation and will win a free trip for two (themselves and a parent) to Washington, D.C. In addition to the individual championship, at least…

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High School Student Teams From Across Tennessee Will Be Competing for Constitution Bee State Championship in Franklin on Saturday

Tennessee Star Staff

Students from eleven high schools across Tennessee and one home school group will be competing for the first ever Tennessee Star Constitution Bee High School Team State Championship in Franklin on Saturday. The High School Team State Championship is a new feature for the Constitution Bee, a semi-annual event held in September and April of each academic year. The previous Constitution Bee, held in September, crowned an individual champion, a key element of the competition that is also part of this Saturday’s Constitution Bee. The individual grand champion who wins Saturday’s event will receive a $3,000 college scholarship provided by the Andrew Woodfin Miller Foundation. In addition, the Polk Foundation, which sponsors the Tennessee Star Constitution Bee, will provide a free trip for two — the winner and a parent — to Washington. D.C. to the individual grand champion. Last year’s individual grand champion, homeschooler Noah Farley, traveled to Washington D.C. with his father where they both attended a speech delivered by District of Columbia Federal Circuit Court Judge Thomas Griffiths to the Hillsdale College Constitution Center. Farley, who will be attending Patrick Henry College in the fall and intends to become a constitutional attorney, personally met Griffiths after the…

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Tennessee Star Editor-in-Chief to Guest Host the Dan Mandis Show on WTN Today and Interview Carol Swain About Moral Leadership

Tennessee Star Staff

Tennessee Star Editor-in-Chief Michael Patrick Leahy will guest host The Dan Mandis Show from noon to 3 p.m. central time on Supertalk 99.7 WTN today, President’s Day, Monday, February 19. The first hour will address the turbulent recent events in Tennessee politics, including Sen. Bob Corker’s (R-TN) potential re-entry into the U.S. Senate race and the controversy surrounding Nashville Mayor Megan Barry. At 12:30 former Vanderbilt professor Carol Swain will offer her commentary on Megan Barry’s lack of moral leadership and its impact on Nashville, the hypocrisy of the #metoo movement with regards to Barry’s extramarital affair with her Metro Nashville Police bodyguard, and the Megan Barry Must Resign rally Tuesday. In the 1 p.m. hour, conservative icon Richard Viguerie, president of ConservativeHQ.com, will discuss the status of 2018 midterm elections. In the second half of that hour, author and Reagan biographer Craig Shirley will offer his reflections on Ronald Reagan on President’s Day, discuss his most recent books, Reagan Rising: The Decisive Years, 1976-1980 and Citizen Newt:The Making of a Reagan Conservative, and will let us in on his future book projects. The final hour of the program will focus on civic education and instruction of elementary and secondary school…

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Leahy Invites Conservative Activists to Attend Constitution Mentors 2018 Kick Off This Saturday

Tennessee Star Staff

On Friday Tennessee Star CEO and Editor-in-chief Michael Patrick Leahy asked constitutional conservatives from around the state to attend the 2018 kick off of the Polk Foundation’s Constitution Mentors program that will be held this Saturday, January 6, from 1 pm to 4 pm. Anyone interested in attending can sign up here. The event will be held at the offices of Professional Educators of Tennessee at 5100 Linbar Drive, Suite 101, in Nashville. “We held our first Constitution Mentor training session back in November. Now, it’s time to add more Constitution Mentors in preparation for the next Tennessee Star Constitution Bee, sponsored by The Polk Foundation, which will be held in Williamson County at the Main Auditorium of the Williamson County Administration building in Franklin from 9 am to noon on Saturday, April 28,” Leahy said. Secondary school students interested in participating in the April 28 Tennessee Star Constitution Bee can sign up here. “While our primary target is students in grades 8 to 12, we have in the past accepted younger students who have demonstrated zeal for the subject, and they have done quite well,” Leahy said. Leahy added that anyone who shares an originalist view of the Constitution…

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Leahy Asks Tea Party Activists to Sign Up as Constitution Mentors for Next Generation

Admin

Speaking to the 7th and 8th Congressional District Coalition in Paris, Tennessee on Thursday evening, The Tennessee Star CEO and Editor-in-chief Michael Patrick Leahy asked the long time Tea Party activists in the audience to sign up as Constitution Mentors for the next generation. Leahy noted that most Tea Party activists are now 50 or older. “We launched this movement back in February 2009, more than eight years ago. We’ve all gotten older,” Leahy, who is also a Breitbart contributor based in Nashville, told the audience. “It’s time for us to pass the torch of constitutional liberty on to the next generation, and one way to do that is for you to sign up and become a Constitution Mentor as part of the Polk Foundation’s Tennessee Star Constitution Project,” Leahy noted. “My boss at Breitbart and good friend, former White House chief strategist and Breitbart executive chairman Steve Bannon, has been saying for some time that we’re not going to Make America Great Again overnight. It’s going to take another ten, twenty years. I think he’s right, it may even take thirty years to preserve and protect our constitutional republic.” “But as Steve points out, we didn’t get here overnight. It’s…

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Tennessee Star Constitution Bee Winner Goes to Washington, D.C., Meets Federal D.C. Circuit Court Judge

Tennessee Star Staff

Noah Farley, the winner of the Tennessee Star Constitution Bee, flew to Washington, D.C. to attend a lecture delivered by United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit Judge Thomas Griffith at Hillsdale College’s Kirby Center for the Constitution on Thursday night. Farley earned a trip to Washington, D.C. for himself and his father with his victory in the inaugural Tennessee Star Constitution Bee, held at Sycamore High School in Pleasant View, Tennessee and hosted by Cheatham County Schools on September 23. The airfare and lodging for the trip was paid for by The Polk Foundation, sponsor of the Tennessee Star Constitution Bee. The 17-year-old homeschooled senior plans to attend Patrick Henry College in Virginia next fall. After completing his undergraduate studies, he plans on going to law school and becoming a constitutional lawyer. The topic of the lecture was “Judicial Conservativism in a Liberal Democracy.” In addition to Judge Griffith, Professor Bradley Watson of St. Vincent College was also a featured speaker. According to the Kirby Center description of the event: Thomas B. Griffith was appointed to the United States Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit in 2005. He earned his B.A. from Brigham Young…

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Rebecca Burke Working to Plan Next Tennessee Star Constitution Bee

Wendy Wilson

Rebecca Burke has a passion for the U.S. Constitution and wants to help young people understand why it is so important. With others, she is already helping to plan the second Tennessee Star Constitution Bee. The inaugural bee was held Saturday, with sixteen students competing. Sponsored by the Polk Foundation, the event took place at Sycamore High School in Cheatham County. Students prepared for the bee by studying the The Tennessee Star Guide to the Constitution and the Bill of Rights for Secondary School Students. Organizers intend to hold the next Constitution Bee in Williamson County on Saturday, April 28th. “We’re still trying to secure a location,” Burke said. A well-known Middle Tennessee conservative activist and Tennessee Republican Party state executive committeewoman, Burke recently announced she is running for the state House of Representatives District 61 seat. The seat is currently occupied by Rep. Charles Sargent (R-Franklin). Burke said a good understanding of the Constitution is important today because freedom of speech is under attack and students are growing up to believe they shouldn’t have to be exposed to ideas they find distasteful. Young people need to understand that all sides deserve a fair hearing, whether the ideas are coming from the left,…

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Winners of Tennessee Star Constitution Bee Share Hopes for the Future

Wendy Wilson

PLEASANT VIEW, Tennessee — In his spare time, Noah Farley likes to read Supreme Court opinions and listen to audio recordings of oral arguments before the high court. “I’m obsessed with the Constitution,” Noah said. “I’ll admit that. I’m a nerd.” Noah spoke with The Tennessee Star after winning first place in Saturday’s Constitution Bee held by The Star and sponsored by the Polk Foundation. The inaugural event took place at Sycamore High School in Cheatham County. Noah won a free trip to Washington, D.C., along with a parent. His parents, Matthew and Kimberly Farley, were at the bee to watch their son compete. Kimberly, an occupational therapist by training, homeschools Noah and his two younger siblings. Matthew works as a business analyst. The family lives in Spring Hill. One day, Noah hopes to become an attorney. “He reads all kinds of books about law, history and even constitutional theory,” said Kimberly, who described Noah as her go-to guy when she wants to know something related to those topics. His expertise is now well beyond hers, she said. Alexandria Anderson was the second place winner. Poised and confident, the Stewart County High School freshman comes across as older than her…

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Young Sisters Won’t Take No For An Answer, Persuade Tennessee Star Constitution Bee Organizers to Let Them in Competition

Wendy Wilson

PLEASANT VIEW, Tennessee — Abagail and Madalyn Falletti were determined to compete Saturday in the Tennessee Star Constitution Bee, and they weren’t going to let their ages stand in the way. Sponsored by the Polk Foundation, the inaugural bee was formally open to students in grades 8-12, with students in grade 7 to be allowed in with special permission. But 10-year-old Abagail and 11-year-old Madalyn are only in fifth and sixth grade, respectively. They wore down organizers with their enthusiasm. “They wouldn’t let me not allow them in,” said Michael Patrick Leahy, CEO and editor-and-chief of The Tennessee Star. Their mother, Jennie Falletti, said the girls became interested in politics last year when they cheered on Ted Cruz in his race for the Republican nomination for president. Jennie homeschools her daughters in Thompson’s Station and helped them get ready for Saturday’s bee. The girls read The Tennessee Star Guide to the Constitution and the Bill of Rights and made flashcards. “I like challenges,” Abagail said. Madalyn said she wanted to participate so she could learn more about the U.S. Constitution. For the Preamble part of the contest, the girls stood side by side on the stage at Sycamore High School and recited…

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Home Schooler Noah Farley Wins Tennessee Star Constitution Bee

Wendy Wilson

  PLEASANT VIEW, Tennessee — Sixteen students competed Saturday morning in the inaugural statewide Tennessee Star Constitution Bee sponsored by the Polk Foundation. The event was held at Sycamore High School between Nashville and Clarksville. The school is part of Cheatham County Schools. On the auditorium stage near a panel of judges, the sharply-dressed young contestants recited the Preamble and answered trivia questions about the U.S. Constitution, the Bill of Rights and Founding Fathers. They also tackled oral short answer questions on topics that required a bit of analysis. The first-place winner was Noah Farley, a 17-year-old homeschooled senior from Spring Hill, who won a free trip to Washington, D.C., along with a parent. Second place went to Alexandria Anderson, 14, a freshman at Stewart County High School, and third place went to Sunshine Coombs, 17, a senior at Stewart County High School. Another standout was Lauren Hunsicker, a 17-year-old Sycamore High School senior, who beautifully sang the Preamble instead of saying it and won “Most Creative” in the Preamble category. She sang the classic Schoolhouse Rock version. Bracey Hughes, who also goes to Sycamore High School, won “Most Persuasive” for her impassioned, dramatic recitation. Home schooled sisters Madalyn and Abagail Falletti…

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The Polk Foundation Launches The Tennessee Star Constitution Project Featuring September 23 Constitution Bee for Students

Tennessee Star Staff

  FRANKLIN,Tennessee – The Polk Foundation today announced the launch of their initiative to teach secondary school students the cornerstones of American liberty: the U.S. Constitution, the Bill of Rights, and all the amendments. Dubbed The Tennessee Star Constitution Project, the effort includes: The publication and free distribution of an original book, The Tennessee Star Guide to the Constitution and the Bill of Rights for Secondary School Students to teachers and secondary school students anywhere in the state who sign up to participate in the 2017-2018 academic year Pilot Project for use as supplementary material for eighth grade Social Studies, high school U.S. Government and Civics, American History, and political elective classes. The development and distribution of support materials based on the popular Constitution Series by The Tennessee Star for teachers, students, and adult volunteers. Training on its implementation in the classroom by teachers and in review sessions by adult volunteers. The first-of-its-kind Constitution Bee for Tennessee secondary school students, to be held in Pleasant View on September 23. Details about the unique project – including two full chapters of the book – are available for review at the Polk Foundation website: http://polkfdn.com. “For years, educators have struggled to fulfill…

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