The blog's nicely set up Connor! :) .. but I must admit, I'm a bit confused. We have one blog for discussions, and a second for the newsletter? (The problem is, I have so much work piled up and then I got sick..I'm a bit behind.. in most everything.)
But is the newsletter blog just for the newsletter, or is it also the place where we can post important updates, perhaps even the research, and try polls? I'm very interested in the polls idea, because I really want the debaters' thoughts as well, and I think it would be a nice way to vote for the idea: so instead of using survey monkey, we use the polls on our website? They would also generate more visits and allow people to look around.  We need the students to return and check up on the latest updates and such, and this could be a wonderful way to do so. I have so much I'd like to discuss, and wish we could have another moderator meeting. 
Another thing is... I like to be organized, everything set up, right and just so :)  So un-organized means confusion..which in turn wreaks havoc lol (: So I'm wondering if we could maybe assign each of us a job on the blog.
( e.g. Connor's in charge of the newsletter, Janelle takes updates, Dulgunn does say a tip section, I do polls, and Mrs. S. takes charge as editor. At the top, we have a section for each, so one section for newsletters, another for polls, etc. We can add more- both jobs and sections: someone to do blog-maintenance if necessary, research section, about section, etc. WARNING: this is just an example! I am not saying we do this. Examples just help me explain and propose ideas ;)

Another topic I want to offer my thoughts on is the 5/6 minute debate option. I was talking with Janelle, who filled me in on the meeting :) thanks again!  At first I thought I thought: wouldn’t this structure be more beneficial and fun for the oldies rather than the newbies? Because after many trials and errors… I understand that structure is hard for newbies. I love the 5/6 minute idea option… but it’s true that it may be a bit too complex for the new people.
BUT, what if we had the newbies do the same thing we're doing right now... with no format? (so one officer takes over the newbies)
And the regulars could do the 5/6m debate in another room, it's pretty structured and sounds like fun, more of a proper debate..? Sort of what I want, and what we wanted for the regulars.
There's just one more thing, if we were to do this with the regulars, the council members could be a panel of judges, and we could do what Janelle and Dulgunn sort of outlined: choose pair, explain topic, assign side, press timer. And each pair has a turn. We decide the winner by vote, and maybe offer a few tips, then move onto the next pair. I think it'd be fun for them to watch people debate, and then themselves have a go. Afterwards, those who are done can either leave or watch. So everyone gets a chance, and it stresses the "having a mic. is necessary" point. If there are worries regarding low-participation, then why not try dividing the group? For instance, if there is a big crowd that day, we could split this 5/6m debate group into two rooms?
But something Janelle helped me realize is that honestly, we don’t really have many if any regulars (besides us really ;).
SO: How about we make it an option? You can either go format or free-format? ‘You’ meaning the debaters of course ;)
We can all take turns, switch on and off with the responsibilities. We have one room for the free-format debate, and maybe two other rooms for the formatted debate with two of us supervising? (5 ppl = perfect) We could also continue to take turns for the research for the free-format debate.
Another thing that comes up as a problem for the 5/6 minutes debate is research. But if one searches up online, there are thousands of debate ideas. I know Janelle mentioned using topics that do not require research. If we're discussing...say for example: ‘Is killing bugs appropriate’ (couldn't think of anything else lol)...then that doesn't necessarily require research.
And sincerely, I think this idea would be better because it teaches people how to truly argue their side expertly based off what they already know... Research for our meetings will I think never truly be done by the attendees...  so it'll have to be the officers' job... and how much of the research will they really take in? how much is actually understood? or put to use? The reason why I mention this is because people in my room don't seem to really take much in from the research... The thing is with this type of Online Debate Club, it’s all about flexibility. Keep it simple, clean, and fun.

We’re going to make a lot of mistakes. :) But we’re not perfect (: Everything has its flaws...  and if we dwell on flaws..then really..there is no end.
The idea is to try our best, and better ourselves and ideas as we move along. To understand others first so that we, ourselves may be understood. If we're all clear and open with each other, it'd make things easier.
SO: I’d like to know where you guys stand? What do you think?

Anymore ideas?

 (is there something I said that doesn’t make sense? ;)

I am so sorry for taking up so much of your time, but I really wanted to come clear and lay out everything I think and understand so far in the open. Thanks so much for your patience! And I am totally not criticizing! Your guys’ ideas amaze me and I truly love ‘em. I’m just trying to understand and offer my own ‘advice’ for lack of a better term.  :) Take care!

That was a great debate, today. Thank you everyone for your work. As we discussed, Tuesday at noon will be the officers meeting. I am working on the format of the newsletter now. Right now, I am planning for posting the monthly topics, the date of the next meeting. A section to outline the rules and procedures of our club. Ms S had a great suggestion for a type of current events section. If anyone else has any ideas please post here on the discussions. And we can....discuss :)

Hi officers. :)
Just posting so you can all see that I now have access to the blog as well.
Thanks for getting this going, Connor, and thanks to all of you for taking the initial steps in setting this up.

I should be present at meetings where any major decisions are made. You can feel free to meet independantly to just brainstorm, etc., but any decisions will need to be approved in a officer meeting where I am present, and so we can take more formal notes, and make sure everyone is aware of changes. Clarification in communication is really the main reason for that. :)

Ms.S.

I wanted to post this to make sure the posts are working as they should. I did see that Ms S and Dulguun have drafts pending. Your posts will show on the blog as soon as you choose to hit the publish button. I did not want to presume to do that for you. On the plus side, I am very happy to see that you found the invite, Dulguun. Now, I would really appreciate if everyone would post their discussions here and cease the email chains. I would like to develop one blog for these officer discussions and another for the newsletter. I would like to discuss what we should include in the newsletter blog tomorrow. Janelle had some great ideas. If anyone else has anything to add please post it to the discussion blog. As for the "off limit" topics, the rules regarding these topics were established with the type of forum in mind. It was decided that, because these subjects can be very personal to some and quickly become heated, a public school forum is not the place for these debates. I hope you can respect that decision. Thanks, Connor

Greeting

Hi All,

Just wanted to post something to confirm that I have verified my invitation to this blog. Thanks Connor for creating the blog! :)

So since this is our newsletter, are we going to add sections such as the next meeting, announcements, and updates? Also, I am posting from my own account. Is the administration account same as the gmail account we setup for the HS Debate Officers?

Sincerely,
Janelle

I started this blog earlier today. I am working on another, so that we can have one where we can post our ideas and another to publish our newsletter. I don't know that we can hold meetings here though. I think we still need to have our meetings in Illuminate. Because, as far as I am aware K 12 requires Ms S to be present at all meetings.